Air France jet missing with 228 on board

**cycloneworld** · 06-01-2009, 07:49 AM

Missing Air France jet 'hit by electric fault' - CNN.com

Sounds like it was hit by lightning and officials fear the worse.

Sad story.

**superman_101680** · 06-01-2009, 08:04 AM

T&P for all involved.

**chengyushen** · 06-01-2009, 08:41 AM

I don;t understand that since air planes travel way above clouds most of the time, how could they be hit by lightening?

Originally Posted by cycloneworld

Missing Air France jet 'hit by electric fault' - CNN.com

Sounds like it was hit by lightning and officials fear the worse.

Sad story.

**jbhtexas** · 06-01-2009, 09:01 AM

Originally Posted by chengyushen

I don;t understand that since air planes travel way above clouds most of the time, how could they be hit by lightening?

The tops of very large thunderstorms can easily exceed the normal cruising altitude of passenger jets.

**1100011CS** · 06-01-2009, 09:06 AM

Originally Posted by jbhtexas

The tops of very large thunderstorms can easily exceed the normal cruising altitude of passenger jets.

Can't lightening go up too?

**cycloneworld** · 06-01-2009, 09:42 PM

Originally Posted by jbhtexas

The tops of very large thunderstorms can easily exceed the normal cruising altitude of passenger jets.

Especially over the ocean. Storms can reach altitudes of 50,000 ft.

They still haven't found the plane....strange.

**LindenCy** · 06-01-2009, 09:43 PM

Originally Posted by cycloneworld

Especially over the ocean. Storms can reach altitudes of 50,000 ft.

They still haven't found the plane....strange.

The island doesn't want it to be found.

**clone2011** · 06-01-2009, 09:45 PM

News story I saw earlier said the search area is about the size of the continental United States, may never find it if it's sunk, unfortunately.

There isn't Air Traffic Control in the middle of the oceans and pilots communicate their locations via old fashioned radio; none of this new technology stuff they have over land.

Sad story to hear.

**herbicide** · 06-01-2009, 09:48 PM

It is kind of surprising they don't use GPS linking for tracking these days. This hits a little home because I have flown on Air France before, and I fly a lot for work.

I mean, it can be had on new automobiles and/or satellite radio...

**SeattleClone** · 06-01-2009, 09:49 PM

Originally Posted by 1100011CS

Can't lightening go up too?

Sure, if it's grounding on the moon or another planet.

**cmoneyr** · 06-01-2009, 09:54 PM

I'd be beyond shocked if they found it. The water is probably 10,000+ feet deep there and they don't even really know where it went down. Terrible tragedy.

**cstrunk** · 06-01-2009, 10:05 PM

Originally Posted by 1100011CS

Can't lightening go up too?

If you are interested in hearing more about the topic, google "jets and sprites." They are flashes (not like normal lightning) of blue or red that shoot far above a thunderstorm into the upper atmosphere. Not a whole lot is known about them. They are not very visible and can only been seen by training yourself to look for them under special circumstances.

Normal lightning does not usually travel very far above a thunderstorm. Tropical thunderstorms can reach upwards of 65,000+ feet. In the mid-latitudes 50-55k feet is more typical of a strong storm. This is higher than the typical cruising altitude of most jets.

I would be surprised to hear that lightning was the direct cause of the crash though, if we ever find out. Jets are built to withstand lightning and have many safety features.... although anything is possible, I suppose.

**Bobber** · 06-01-2009, 10:11 PM

I feel for all the poor families of the victims.

Life's tough some times...

**ISU_Alum_2000** · 06-01-2009, 10:19 PM

Originally Posted by LindenCy

The island doesn't want it to be found.

It's sad, but that's the first thing I thought of, as well.

**ISUAlum2002** · 06-01-2009, 10:24 PM

John McLaughlin just showed composite satellite images of the area the plane went down in at the time of the flight. It showed that the thunderheads had a maximum altitude of somewhere between 45,000 and 51,000 feet.

It seems as though they tried to fly right through it. I don't understand why a prudent pilot wouldn't just take the extra time to go around the storm.