Why can't planes take off and land in thunderstorm weather? Is the plane afraid of lightning?

At the same time, the external structure of the aircraft is made of conductive materials. If lightning strikes, the plane is a short circuit path. Although it will not directly harm the people in the plane, it is likely to damage the electronic equipment and structure injured by the plane, which will affect the safety.

Because the plane can't be grounded during flight, what the plane needs to do is lightning protection, not lightning protection.

Specifically, before each flight, the pilot should know the weather conditions of each section of the route and choose the appropriate flight route to avoid direct contact with strong lightning. When flying in the air, the pilot will also observe the weather conditions on the route through the weather radar. In short, in the face of lightning weather, the countermeasure is one word-hide. If the plane hasn't taken off yet, of course I won't take the risk. As for the arrival flight, I usually choose the alternate flight, or the word-hide.

However, outside the lightning weather, when the plane flies in the clouds, it will rub with the air and clouds to generate charges. When the charges accumulate to a certain value, it may also form lightning strikes. At this time, it is necessary to use an "electrostatic discharger" installed at the tip of the main wing or tail wing of the aircraft, which is generally called a discharge brush. The principle is that when the current generated by lightning passes through the aircraft or the aircraft is electrostatically charged due to air friction, the current will be instantly released to the outside of the fuselage through the discharge brush, so that under the action of conductor effect, the process of gathering and releasing high-energy electric energy will not be formed-it is worth noting that the cabin is insulated from the fuselage shell, so it is safe for passengers to sit in the cabin. Schematic diagram of discharge brush of civil aviation passenger plane (data picture)

The discharge brush is also a "protective umbrella" for instruments and electronic equipment on the plane. By releasing the static electricity flowing on the fuselage at any time, the communication and navigation of the aircraft are prevented from being interfered by electromagnetic fields, which affects flight safety. Generally, there are discharge brushes above 10 on modern civil airliners, but there are also many small planes. Because these small planes are small in size and the static electricity on the fuselage is very small, they are directly released by the fuselage. In addition, the lightning protection of aircraft is also reflected in the reinforcement of important equipment of aircraft, such as the reinforcement and insulation of fuel tank shell. The position of avionics is also accurately evaluated and calculated, so that even if the aircraft is struck by lightning, it will cause damage.

But then again, the discharge ability of the discharge brush is limited. If the plane is struck by high-energy lightning, the discharge brush can't release this energy instantly, which will produce resistance effect, which is likely to cause the danger of body breakdown and even lead to a vicious accident. Therefore, we must be cautious when flying. The most important thing is to know every weather situation and avoid danger in time.

Interested readers can look at the first two issues of this column, Weather Factors Affecting Flight and Thunderstorm Season. Are you ready to send more troops? 》。