BRUSSELS, Beglium — The lightning and turbulence that may have hit an Air France jet flying from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris are rarely the cause of plane crashes, analysts say. But they note that rough weather may have triggered malfunctions that led to the disappearance of the jetliner.
Chief Air France spokesman Francois Brousse suggested the plane could have been struck by lightning.
But most experts say lightning doesn’t usually bring down a modern airliner, unless it coincides with other factors that contribute to the accident.
"Planes are built with lightning strikes in mind and are struck reasonably frequently,” said Patrick Smith, a U.S. commercial pilot and aviation writer.
"I’ve been hit by lightning in my career a number of times, which at worst resulted in a superficial mark on the outside of the plane,” Smith said in a telephone interview from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Aviation safety statistics indicate that each large passenger jet is struck by lightning about once every three years on average.
Although lightning may have been a contributing factor in a handful of accidents since World War II, only one major crash was attributed directly to a strike. In 1963, a Pan American World Airways Boeing 707 exploded in midair when its fuel tank fumes were ignited by lightning.
by the associated press
Chief Air France spokesman Francois Brousse suggested the plane could have been struck by lightning.
But most experts say lightning doesn’t usually bring down a modern airliner, unless it coincides with other factors that contribute to the accident.
"Planes are built with lightning strikes in mind and are struck reasonably frequently,” said Patrick Smith, a U.S. commercial pilot and aviation writer.
"I’ve been hit by lightning in my career a number of times, which at worst resulted in a superficial mark on the outside of the plane,” Smith said in a telephone interview from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Aviation safety statistics indicate that each large passenger jet is struck by lightning about once every three years on average.
Although lightning may have been a contributing factor in a handful of accidents since World War II, only one major crash was attributed directly to a strike. In 1963, a Pan American World Airways Boeing 707 exploded in midair when its fuel tank fumes were ignited by lightning.
by the associated press
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