A friend of mine who is a glider pilot once compared thunderstorm to a steamroller. If you get hit by the leading edge your plane will get smashed into the gro

A friend of mine who is a glider pilot once compared thunderstorm to a steamroller. If you get hit by the leading edge your plane will get smashed into the ground. If you somehow get to the back part, your plane might end up in the stratosphere, which might be just as fatal due to very low temperature and lack of oxygen. He mentioned some early gliding pioneers who were insane and lucky enough managed to "ride" a thunderstorm and achieve record breaking flight distance - and somehow not getting killed in the process.