Pats' plane struck by lightning

[pats1]

A little follow-up to the delays they had thursday coming in:

http://www.projo.com/patriots/content/projo_20060812_12patsjo.2176b16.html

Harrowing experience

The Patriots got to their Atlanta hotel just before midnight Friday morning, about five hours after they were scheduled to arrive.

It was not a pleasant trip. Thunderstorms over Atlanta diverted the team plane to Knoxville, Tenn., where it was refueled and sat for nearly two hours. When the plane took off, it went up in the thunderstorms that had plagued Atlanta hours earlier.

Pats vice president of media relations Stacey James said that, according to a flight attendant, the plane was struck by lightning.

"The flight was so bumpy and shifting around while we were elevating that (being struck) wouldn't surprise me at all. The flashes were all around on both sides."

James explained that planes are jolted by lightning but don't feel the same impact as a ground strike because "there's no grounding element and the electricity just moves around you."

He added, "At least that's the assurance I've always gotten."

When it was mentioned that having the plane go down would have been a bad break for the team, James answered dryly, "And it would have been hard from our perspective to spin that positively."

 

[T-ShirtDynasty]

It's Maroney's fault. He's just friggin' electric.

James answered dryly, "And it would have been hard from our perspective to spin that positively."

So now the whole organization is taking Belichick Dry Humor seminars or what?

 

[Patriotic]

We can joke about it now, but the thought of their plane being hit is frightening. The grief of that plane going down would have been unimaginable.

I was driving through Atlanta Thursday evening and there was lightning everywhere.

 

[Remix 6]

scared the **** out of me for a few minutes..i was like NOOOO! but i read its all fine so im like phew

 

[BelichickFan]

Planes are hit by lightning more than people realize, it's not a big deal, kind of like lightning hitting a rock. The more risky thing is the stormy air as it's air pressure that keeps the plane up.

But, yeah, Stacey seems to have caught Belichickitis

 

[BostonStrangler]

planes get struck by lightning all the time I think, they shake it off because of the materials they are made out of.

could be wrong

^^ great minds think alike

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

planes get struck by lightning all the time I think, they shake it off because of the materials they are made out of.

could be wrong

^^ great minds think alike

No, it's the fact that a plane, just like your car, is not grounded. Electricity, which is a flow of electrons, flows to ground like water flows to the lowest spot. Slightly oversimplified but adequate for the discussion.

 

[ilduce06410]

it happens frequently.

Planes are hit by lightning more than people realize

flying thru any storm increases the likelihood of a plane being hit. across the lower 48, there are thousands of flights every day. try 5000. lets say planes get hit by lightning .001%, or one hundredth of one percent, get hit on any day. that still works out to about 5 flights. every day.

many passenger jets can certainly fly above 35,000 feet.
so why is the plane flying in the storm when it could probably fly above it?
it was sent there by the air traffic controller, and the captain agreed. because flying in storms, even if it gets hit by lightning, is no big deal for passenger jets.

 

[Michael]

planes get struck by lightning all the time I think, they shake it off because of the materials they are made out of.

could be wrong

^^ great minds think alike

Yep, the car or plane acts like a Faraday Cage

 

[State]

It's not the flash, it's the load that hurts the plane.

The plane reportedly strained on takeoff, saying, "Please throw Wolfork and O'Callaghan off me! They're heavier than a typical first class businessman. Ye gads!"

 

[Patjew]

Re: it happens frequently.

so why is the plane flying in the storm when it could probably fly above it?
it was sent there by the air traffic controller, and the captain agreed. because flying in storms, even if it gets hit by lightning, is no big deal for passenger jets.

More likely the plane did end up flying over the storm but was hit (if it really was) on the way up.

"The flight was so bumpy and shifting around while we were elevating that (being struck) wouldn't surprise me at all. The flashes were all around on both sides."

Not much you can do about that except to keep the flight grounded.

But you're right, as someone who flies over 100,000 miles per year, I can tell you that getting hit by lightning, if you recognize it, is kinda scary, but not dangerous for a commercial-size jet. The plane seems to fizzle, is all. My guess is that if the Pats' plane was hit by lightning, they didn't even realize it when it happened. The bumps and shifting around while they were elevating was more likely due to strong winds from the storm- lightning wouldn't cause that. That feels scary but also isn't normally dangerous.

Lightning can put down a small prop plane by shorting out its circuits.

 

[Hoodie]

No More Flying In Thunderstorms!