4 ms·

Other than a very bumpy ride and lots of nerves, I would think a 737 (and many other commercial jets) would have no problem flying through a hurricane. Landing

Other than a very bumpy ride and lots of nerves, I would think a 737 (and many other commercial jets) would have no problem flying through a hurricane. Landing on the other hand... Anyone with knowledge of this?

mikeash 9y ago
I'd think that flying through one would be pretty doable. I don't think the "hurricane hunter" planes are anything special in terms of their ability to withstand turbulence. You may need to avoid the parts with the most severe convection. Airliners don't necessarily fare well in the middle of violent non-hurricane thunderstorms either. Landing and taking off in one, however, would be really bad once the winds pick up.
- puzzle 9y ago
  It's not the same at all, but yesterday my flight had 150mph head winds (compare to Irma's 185) and you couldn't even notice. I only did because of the news coverage and wanted to compare.
reaperducer 9y ago
Guess how we know you're not a pilot...
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
lightbyte 9y ago
Flying through a hurricane is not dangerous at all, especially for a massive plane like a 737. Airplanes are incredibly resistant to horizontal winds, which are all a hurricane is. It's vertical winds that are dangerous to fly through, which is what thunderstorms create.
- lisper 9y ago
  Hurricanes usually have embedded thunderstorms.
  - lightbyte 9y ago
    So does non-hurricane air. The hurricane by itself presents very little danger to a plane in the air.
    - lisper 9y ago
      > So does non-hurricane air That depends on what you mean by "non-hurricane air." An embedded thunderstorm by definition has to be embedded in some other weather system. That other weather system doesn't have to be a hurricane, but so what? That doesn't change the fact that one of the many dangers of flying into a hurricane is the embedded thunderstorms it contains. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare/hazards.php http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare/hazards.php "Hurricanes and tropical storms can also produce tornadoes. These tornadoes most often occur in thunderstorms embedded in rain bands well away from the center of the hurricane; however, they can also occur near the eyewall." > The hurricane by itself presents very little danger to a plane in the air That's a vacuous statement. Yes, if you remove all the dangerous parts of a hurricane, whatever remains is, by definition, not dangerous. And yes, it's true that strong winds by themselves are not dangerous. Commercial airliners regularly fly through the jet stream which is comparable to a hurricane in terms of wind speed. But that doesn't change the fact that hurricanes contain embedded thunderstorms, which can be very dangerous.
lisper 9y ago
Private pilot with 20 yrs experience here... To say that a 737 would have "no problem" would be overly optimistic. A 737, like all commercial airliners, is pretty tough, but there are plenty of things in a hurricane that could bring one down. There's hail, up-and-downdrafts that far exceed the capability of the aircraft to overcome them, and turbulence severe enough to flip the plane inverted. The least likely event is turbulence severe enough to structurally damage the plane, though even that is possible, and hail could definitely damage the plane, especially the engines, to the point where it would no longer be airworthy. You might make it, but you'd be rolling some pretty serious dice. Landing in a hurricane would be impossible. You can handle being kicked around in the air because there's nothing to hit. But near the ground you need reasonably stable air in order to make a controlled landing. Anything more than around 50 knots is pretty much a show-stopper for any civilian aircraft, and even much slower winds than that can present significant challenges if they're gusty or not aligned with the runway.
- Tuxer 9y ago
  A hurricane isn't a thunderstorm, and has very limited vertical movement in its airflows. The hurricane hunter P3s do it.
  - lisper 9y ago
    > A hurricane isn't a thunderstorm, That's true, but they can (and usually do) contain embedded thunderstorms. > and has very limited vertical movement in its airflows. Except for the embedded thunderstorms. > The hurricane hunter P3s do it. That's true, but they can do it because their destination is the eye of the storm. That allows you to do all your navigation relative to the storm. Commercial airliners are trying to reach a destination on the ground, i.e. a target that is moving relative to the hurricane. Trying to navigate with this additional constraint is a whole different ballgame.
    - SAI_Peregrinus 9y ago
      Also the hurricane hunter WP3s (and the USAF equivalent WC130s) all have 3-point harnesses (or better) for all seats. That's pretty important for passenger safety in turbulence. Passenger airplane lap belts leave a lot to be desired when dealing with strong turbulence.
omegant 9y ago
This is what you get when an airliner goes into a big storm. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/pilots-awarded-medal-for-landing-blind-after-istanbul-hailstorm/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/pilots-awarded-medal-...

mikeash 9y ago

I'd think that flying through one would be pretty doable. I don't think the "hurricane hunter" planes are anything special in terms of their ability to withstand turbulence. You may need to avoid the parts with the most severe convection. Airliners don't necessarily fare well in the middle of violent non-hurricane thunderstorms either. Landing and taking off in one, however, would be really bad once the winds pick up.

puzzle 9y ago
It's not the same at all, but yesterday my flight had 150mph head winds (compare to Irma's 185) and you couldn't even notice. I only did because of the news coverage and wanted to compare.

reaperducer 9y ago

Guess how we know you're not a pilot...

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

lightbyte 9y ago

Flying through a hurricane is not dangerous at all, especially for a massive plane like a 737. Airplanes are incredibly resistant to horizontal winds, which are all a hurricane is. It's vertical winds that are dangerous to fly through, which is what thunderstorms create.

lisper 9y ago
Hurricanes usually have embedded thunderstorms.
- lightbyte 9y ago
  So does non-hurricane air. The hurricane by itself presents very little danger to a plane in the air.
  - lisper 9y ago
    > So does non-hurricane air That depends on what you mean by "non-hurricane air." An embedded thunderstorm by definition has to be embedded in some other weather system. That other weather system doesn't have to be a hurricane, but so what? That doesn't change the fact that one of the many dangers of flying into a hurricane is the embedded thunderstorms it contains. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare/hazards.php http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare/hazards.php "Hurricanes and tropical storms can also produce tornadoes. These tornadoes most often occur in thunderstorms embedded in rain bands well away from the center of the hurricane; however, they can also occur near the eyewall." > The hurricane by itself presents very little danger to a plane in the air That's a vacuous statement. Yes, if you remove all the dangerous parts of a hurricane, whatever remains is, by definition, not dangerous. And yes, it's true that strong winds by themselves are not dangerous. Commercial airliners regularly fly through the jet stream which is comparable to a hurricane in terms of wind speed. But that doesn't change the fact that hurricanes contain embedded thunderstorms, which can be very dangerous.

lisper 9y ago

Private pilot with 20 yrs experience here... To say that a 737 would have "no problem" would be overly optimistic. A 737, like all commercial airliners, is pretty tough, but there are plenty of things in a hurricane that could bring one down. There's hail, up-and-downdrafts that far exceed the capability of the aircraft to overcome them, and turbulence severe enough to flip the plane inverted. The least likely event is turbulence severe enough to structurally damage the plane, though even that is possible, and hail could definitely damage the plane, especially the engines, to the point where it would no longer be airworthy. You might make it, but you'd be rolling some pretty serious dice. Landing in a hurricane would be impossible. You can handle being kicked around in the air because there's nothing to hit. But near the ground you need reasonably stable air in order to make a controlled landing. Anything more than around 50 knots is pretty much a show-stopper for any civilian aircraft, and even much slower winds than that can present significant challenges if they're gusty or not aligned with the runway.

Tuxer 9y ago
A hurricane isn't a thunderstorm, and has very limited vertical movement in its airflows. The hurricane hunter P3s do it.
- lisper 9y ago
  > A hurricane isn't a thunderstorm, That's true, but they can (and usually do) contain embedded thunderstorms. > and has very limited vertical movement in its airflows. Except for the embedded thunderstorms. > The hurricane hunter P3s do it. That's true, but they can do it because their destination is the eye of the storm. That allows you to do all your navigation relative to the storm. Commercial airliners are trying to reach a destination on the ground, i.e. a target that is moving relative to the hurricane. Trying to navigate with this additional constraint is a whole different ballgame.
  - SAI_Peregrinus 9y ago
    Also the hurricane hunter WP3s (and the USAF equivalent WC130s) all have 3-point harnesses (or better) for all seats. That's pretty important for passenger safety in turbulence. Passenger airplane lap belts leave a lot to be desired when dealing with strong turbulence.

omegant 9y ago

This is what you get when an airliner goes into a big storm. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/pilots-awarded-medal-for-landing-blind-after-istanbul-hailstorm/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/pilots-awarded-medal-...