Lightning Damage to Aircraft, Part 1

The moment a cloud-to-ground lightning bolt struck an aircraft at low altitude. Notice that the lightning bolt entered the aircraft near the forward part of the fuselage and exited near the tail. “Entry” and “exit” points are common damage to an aircraft as a result of a lightning strike. Credit: National Weather Service
The French Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aerospatiales (ONERA) estimates that each airplane in the U.S. commercial fleet is struck by lightning on average at least once every 1,000 flight hours. The damage incurred by these lightning strikes accounts for approximately $2 billion in...

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