Lightning Damage and Protection for Pilots

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Introduction

Lightning is a rather common natural phenomenon that is accompanied by noise, a burning smell, and a bright flash of light. The distressing nature of lightning cannot be underestimated since it could affect most of the individuals on a plane, from customers to crew members. Even though the possibility of crucial physical damage is rather low, pilots and staff should be equipped for the greatest concerns linked to lightning strikes in order to limit the effects of disturbance and prevent any future issues associated with this natural phenomenon. In addition, lightning is a stressful phenomenon for passengers. Thus, when faced with it, the crew has to act calmly and purposefully, even when the emotional background is tense. The intended audience of the paper includes commercial aviation pilots who might extend their knowledge base and come prepared for some of the repeating scenarios. Pilots are responsible for ensuring that the flight is successful and coping with the weather conditions. However, in some cases, planes themselves can cause lightings. Knowing this, experienced and prepared pilots will be able to adjust their actions to achieve a favorable outcome and prevent crises.

Literature Review

Cloud-to-Ground Lightning and Structures

According to Jiang et al., computer simulations of lightning strikes could be significantly improved with the help of stochastic lightning models (2). Different data sources should be observed in order to see how different structures would respond to lightning and what could be the consequences of such interactions for commercial aviation pilots. Higher structures are always exposed to an increased occurrence of lightning strikes which is also a signal for a general deviation effect that causes bolts of lightning to hit higher targets. A thorough discussion on protection distances might be necessary to update pilots on the topic of anti-lightning strategies.

Cloud-to-Ground Lightning and Antennas

On the other hand, the attraction and initiation generated by tall objects could be expanded with the help of the notion of the density of lightning and its dependence on the structure of lightning targets. Kingfield et al. suggested that the natural occurrence of lightning strikes could be increased with the help of higher constructions and a variety of antennas (5207). This is an essential piece of evidence for pilots because many lightning strikes would not even occur without the existence of high buildings and powerful antennas. It indicates that the safety level on planes is often higher than it may seem, so it is necessary to stay calm and concentrated to leave a dangerous area.

Lightning Strikes and Flash Duration

With the longest lightning strike distance of slightly under 200 miles and a lightning strike that lasted for almost eight seconds, it may be safe to say that corrections have to be made to existing prevention and mitigation strategies. Further validation and demonstration of such strategies would be a positive experience for pilots since they would have a chance to detect valuable new information and apply it to practice (Lang et al. 1158). This eventual attempt of measuring organizational successes would provide a great deal of reinforcement to pilots and make engineering concerns more evident.

Small-and Large-Current Cloud-to-Ground Lightning

An additional area of concern that has to be covered is the presence of large and small currents that might affect climate in the area and have varied outcomes for over-land and over-sea flights. As suggested by Zheng et al., pilots should also acknowledge the differences related to seasons and their unique characteristics (2841). Not only could there be certain geographical limitations, but the crew might also have to foresee the probability distributions of lightning and the strength of the latter.

Conclusion

Despite some of the effects of lightning strikes being predicted, it should be noted that pilots have to improve their knowledge on the subject in order to protect crew members and passengers from any damage. The author intends to discuss the phenomenon of lightning in richer detail and investigate the influence of lightning on flight scenarios where pilots and the crew have to work together. From flash duration and a variety of currents to structures involved in commercial aviation, there are more than a few factors to investigate to predict and mitigate damage instigated by lightning strikes.

Works Cited

Jiang, Ruijiao, et al. Simulation of Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Strikes to Structures Based on an Improved Stochastic Lightning Model. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, vol. 203, 2020, pp. 1-9.

Kingfield, Darrel M. et al. Antenna Structures and CloudtoGround Lightning Location: 19952015. Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 44, no. 10, 2017, pp. 5203-5212.

Lang, Timothy J., et al. WMO World Record Lightning Extremes: Longest Reported Flash Distance, and Longest Reported Flash Duration. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, vol. 98, no. 6, 2017, pp. 1153-1168.

Zheng, Dong, et al. Climatological Comparison of Small-and Large-Current Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Flashes over Southern China. Journal of Climate, vol. 29, no. 8, 2016, pp. 2831-2848.

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