Have you ever been on a plane while a lightning storm raged just outside the windows?
Passengers on a Spirit Airlines flight late last year had to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia when lightning stuck their plane twice. This isn’t the first or last time it’s happened.
Pop star Miley Cyrus was also in a plane that was struck by lightning last year, and just last month, a lightning strike on another plane in Arkansas was captured on video. These incidents made the “Something Offbeat” team wonder: when should we panic on a plane?
To help us learn more, Dr. Kristin Calhoun, a research scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association National Severe Storms Lab in Oklahoma and Rhett Dennerline, a longtime pilot and aeronautical engineer, joined the show.
“It’s actually surprisingly common most of the time. It's not a big deal other than the loud bang, flash, bang you might hear,” Calhoun explained.
However, there are some times when lightning is a danger.
“It can knock out that navigational equipment,” said Dennerline. “That would be a huge risk to an aircraft, even if there’s not a structural problem, because the pilot would not be able to safely keep the wings level.”
Turbulence caused by lightning storms brings even more potential dangers. Listen to learn about them – and how to stay safe.
Each week, “Something Offbeat” takes a deeper look at an unusual headline. If you have suggestions for stories the podcast should cover, send them to us at somethingoffbeat@audacy.com.
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