Natwerk Designs

Do you think Aeroplanes should be designed to deal with Lightening strikes and Turbulence?

Lightning and Turbulence: although planes are generally regarded as safe, these two are the biggest threats to a modern commercial plane whilst at cruising altitude. (Examples AF447, BOAC Flight which broke-up when it encountered turbulence, which all of the passengers perished on and Pan Am when lightning ignited the fuel tanks.) Some tall buildings have lightning discharge rods, since Lightning in itself is Static, this would cause the charges to dissipate over the exterior of the aircraft - rather than penetrate the aircraft's vital systems. They do not have to be very large and this addition could save many lives. Turbulence - it can easily snap a plane's wings off. If a small change, say, a carbon alloy was built into the wings, the wings could bend with the turbulence and act like giant shock absorbers. The fuselage, with a not so expensive price, should be built with several alloys, strengthening the hull so it does not break apart with the turbulence. Jets can also break into peaces if they fly too fast, especially during a storm or Turbulence. So why doesn't the FAA safety regulations order planes to be made out of metal and not that thin delicate plastic-metal stuff? It's 2011 and I don't see why airplanes aren't designed to deal with this. They are both very common occurances, what's stopping the FAA from making these important live-saving alterations? Is Airbus or Boeing releasing/designing any new aircraft that won't break apart in turbulence and won't blow up if they are struck by lightning when flying through a thunderstorm? (Which, scarily, I heard many planes do...whoah.) Just curious if my opinions would work against these issues. Do you think that they would work?

Public Comments

1. Plane's wings are shock absorbers! When you fly they bend, if they didn't then they would snap as soon as you got into the air. What's more, from personally having been in a plane that's been hit by lightening then they must also be equipped in some way for this!
2. ya i used to have same ques bt i found that there is no lightning attack on airplane till now
3. They are! Duh!
4. wow, what an excellent idea! It sure is an inconvenience, the way flights have to change their routes to avoid storms and turbulence. Ya know, after what you said, I think I'll make the decision never to fly Pan Am or BOAC again.
5. 1. Lightning strikes are a common occurrence. The PanAm incident you refer to happened in 1967... That's history. Aircraft have changed significantly since then, with technological improvements. Take a look at the articles below about lightning strikes. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43015498/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/video-shows-how-jets-survive-lightning-strikes/ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-happens-when-lightni 2. Again, the flight you reference was from the 60's. BOAC flight 911 broke up in 1966 from severe lee wave turbulence. Changes have been made to aircraft design to prevent this from happening again. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOAC_Flight_911 If you claim to know of an alloy combination that is both light and can withstand great fluctuations in stress, then you should contact someone with Boeing ASAP. I mean, people's lives are at stake because planes are so "delicate"...
6. You heard wrong. You've post this rant before.
7. You are sadly misinformed. Aircraft are frequently hit by lightning and frequently encounter turbulence. They are designed to withstand these occurrences, which is why air travel is so safe.
8. As you say, it's 2011, and planes ARE designed to deal with this. As somebody else pointed out, your examples are from over 40 years ago, and modern planes are a massive improvement in materials, engineering and manufacturing from those older models. They do learn from their mistakes and make improvements to new and existing planes as they discover just what can go wrong. Also, as you say many planes do get hit by lightning when they fly. But what you don't hear about anymore is planes crashing because of lightning strikes because of the improvements that have been made.
9. Funny, you're quoting airlines which have been out of business for decades... Kid, planes are designed to deal with storm and lightning strikes. There's a reason why an airliner crash makes headlines around the world and a 6-car pileup on your nearby highway does not.
10. I couldn't be bothered reading any of that. But they are designed for both of those. "Is Airbus or Boeing releasing/designing any new aircraft that won't break apart in turbulence and won't blow up if they are struck by lightning when flying through a thunderstorm? (Which, scarily, I heard many planes do...whoah.)" Rubbish. The body of a plane is bonded with metal so it can act as a conductor, allowing electricity to pass through it in order to survive the jolts. Without the metallic bonding, lightning could cause a plane to explode on impact. Check out this photo taken recently of an Emirates plane landing at Heathrow airport and two massive strikes of lightning hitting it. No damage, no passengers felt anything. http://i52.tinypic.com/2ebbfux.jpg