Would you after seeing this?

http://www.abunawaf.com/web/_uploads/IBRAHIM/ib23.gif

??? I have flown many times, but that does seem quite scary.

Hmmm...link doesn't work for me

Most airframes, and all airliner airframes function excellently as Faraday cages, or vessels that conduct and isolate high voltage along their exterior. For the last 40 years or more, commercial transports have been made lightning "proof" in the sense that they are designed to move these extreme voltages along the exterior of the airframe, and occupants and fuel systems are very well protected. There has not been an accident attributed to lightning for as long as its effects have become well understood, and regulations have required that airliners be immune from any catastrophic problems due to lightning strikes.

This doesn't mean that lightning strikes are not expensive: These incidents not only can destroy electrical equipment, but also magnetize and damage turbine wheels and bearings, and cause small localized damage or pinholes in structure. Because of the requirements of regulations, airliners get exhaustively inspected, and often very expensive repairs are made.

As a pilot, the greatest hazard lightning strikes, or near strikes present are temporary blindness, and the startling effect of what sounds like a large explosion. Honestly, I've had unexpected and extremely LOUD lightning momentarily scare the crap out of me, even knowing from a technical standpoint that the airplane is fine. Maneuvering around particularly active thunderstorm cells, I often keep one eye closed, especially at night, so that a near strike doesn't momentarily rob me of eyesight.

Of all the hazardous phenomena associated with thunderstorms, lightning is among the smaller considerations. More than lightning has caused problems, it has often served to warn pilots away from extremely violent cascades of wind and hail that are quite commonly capable of destroying any aircraft, if encroached upon. As a passenger, you are in very safe hands around thunderstorms, because the folks up front with their weather radar, communications and data uplinks, and windshield, all of which you are unfortunately not privy to, are at least as loathe as you are to tangle with thunderstorm cells. Even though the ride may get bumpy in the neighborhood, and lightning may be visible and on rare occasions actually reach out to touch an airliner, you have far less to worry about regarding your safety, especially in comparison to the ride home from the airport on the ground.

Would you after seeing this?

http://www.abunawaf.com/web/_uploads/IBRAHIM/ib23.gif

??? I have flown many times, but that does seem quite scary.

Did the plane actually crash or was it just hit by lightning? if it flew on it actually makes me feel much safer. Statistics (cars vs airplanes) are much scarier to me.

planes are deisgned to be lightning resistant now, who cares anyway as long as you dont get zapped just jump into the ocean as it goes down

Buffys: "Did the plane actually crash or was it just hit by lightning?"

No crash of a transport aircraft has been attributed to lightning in more than 40 years.

cute animation

http://www.abunawaf.com/mix/store2/CHAINSES.zip

try this one...

jade...

I think i was on that flight.

buffy...

Cars v. aircraft stats are a little misleading. They are commonly calculated based on distance i.e it is safer for me to fly for one hour to Toronto than it is to drive the 7 or so hours. When you calculate the stats based on 'time spent in' they equal out i.e 8 hours spent in flight, so i've heard, is just as risky as driving a car for 8 hours. That may not seem as freightening to most but if you fly more than you drive, as a lot of us do.........

The same can hapen with cars. The electric thing just go around, on the surface, on the metal part. Inside, everyone is safe. I'm quite sure it is safer to be inside a car in a thuderstorm than on the street.

Cars v. aircraft stats are a little misleading. They are commonly calculated based on distance i.e it is safer for me to fly for one hour to Toronto than it is to drive the 7 or so hours. When you calculate the stats based on 'time spent in' they equal out i.e 8 hours spent in flight, so i've heard, is just as risky as driving a car for 8 hours. That may not seem as freightening to most but if you fly more than you drive, as a lot of us do.........

good point, I hadn't considered that. Though, I still doubt planes are as dangerous as cars. If only because there's a hell of a lot of more room to err in the air (3 dimensions of nearly empty space) than on a road (2 dimensions of often crowded space, if not by cars then trees, cliffs, fences, light-stands, etc.). There's just way more ways to fatally screw up on the ground than in the air.

There's just way more ways to fatally screw up on the ground than in the air.

Yeah, no doubt. I can't recall the last time a pilot had to make an evasive manouver, due to a reckless cyclist, while flying an aircraft.

Hmmm, makes me wonder if pilots become more complacent while flying because there's less obstacles.....

Thanks buffy, now I'm even more paranoid. :)

Hmmm, makes me wonder if pilots become more complacent while flying because there's less obstacles.....)

even if they do, unless they're taking off or landing, they could practically sleep the whole way with little worries. I think some newer planes can even land without a pilot, theoretically the pilot could be blind drunk, high on acid and running around the plane with a lampshade on his head and still complete a safe flight (though I wouldn't want to be there if this was ever tested).

I wonder if anything happens inside the craft?.

Do the pilots dials go haywire? lights blow?

I wonder what it felt like to be on the plane...?

buffy...

You're not contributing whatsoever to my desire for increased confidence in pilots..... A lamp shade? Good lord, I think I've been on that flight too.... :eek:

well if anything DID happen on the flight youd think that by now theyd have done something about it.
if you flew with the Wright brothers (well, no lights on the plane anyway) then you might have to worry.
anyway, it wouldnt matter if anything happened to the pilots dials since theyre not flying the things and if the lights blew then everything must be OK since everything must philodophically be observed to exsist so if noone can see anything then nothing can happen.
then everyone walks away merry :)