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This particular instance involved a very modern plane piloted by a very experienced crew. Google the kind of stress tests they put plane wings and such under. A

by quizbiz 17y ago

This particular instance involved a very modern plane piloted by a very experienced crew. Google the kind of stress tests they put plane wings and such under. A wide body fuselage should not come apart in a thunderstorm.

lutorm 17y ago
It depends on speed and attitude. It's entirely possible, if a plane is flying fast enough, or in regions with strong enough wind shear, to overstress the airframe. That's why there is this thing called "maneuvering speed", it's the maximum speed you can fly where the wing will stall rather than rip off. If you fly faster than that, or if due to wind shear your airspeed suddenly finds itself above that, the airframe can fail either due to severe turbulence or just due to maximum control deflection (though the latter may be electronically limited on an Airbus, don't know about that).
cameldrv 17y ago
Thunderstorms can kill in a variety of ways -- the turbulence isn't your only problem, although I wouldn't bet that a storm as severe as this one (50kft tops) couldn't have done it. The kind of bumps you get in something like that aren't what you think of as turbulence in a plane. Airlines have radar and always go around the big cells. This one would have been strong enough to fling people out of their seats and kill them from blunt force impact with the interior of the plane. Second, in a thunderstorm, you have lots of rain, which if strong enough can interfere with the engines. There is also hail which can do significant damage to the skin of the plane and make it very difficult to handle. Third, there is lightning, and while airliners are supposed to be able to take a lighting strike, there are different types of lightning, and "positive lighting" has been known to poke holes in airplanes otherwise believed to be protected. Fourth, there can be lots and lots of ice. Airbus has already issued a letter warning of the danger of pitot icing as a result of this crash, and they know that at least one of the airspeed indicators wasn't working properly, probably because it was iced over. Furthermore, with extreme turbulence, it can be difficult to even read the instruments. With lighting going off all around you, no visible horizon, and you being vibrated and thrown around in your seatbelts, it is very easy to become disoriented and lose control, possibly to the point of overstressing the airframe and ripping it apart. A thunderstorm like this is about the most dangerous place for an airplane to be. I'm certain that one way or another, that is what did them in.

by quizbiz 17y ago

lutorm 17y ago

It depends on speed and attitude. It's entirely possible, if a plane is flying fast enough, or in regions with strong enough wind shear, to overstress the airframe. That's why there is this thing called "maneuvering speed", it's the maximum speed you can fly where the wing will stall rather than rip off. If you fly faster than that, or if due to wind shear your airspeed suddenly finds itself above that, the airframe can fail either due to severe turbulence or just due to maximum control deflection (though the latter may be electronically limited on an Airbus, don't know about that).

cameldrv 17y ago

Thunderstorms can kill in a variety of ways -- the turbulence isn't your only problem, although I wouldn't bet that a storm as severe as this one (50kft tops) couldn't have done it. The kind of bumps you get in something like that aren't what you think of as turbulence in a plane. Airlines have radar and always go around the big cells. This one would have been strong enough to fling people out of their seats and kill them from blunt force impact with the interior of the plane. Second, in a thunderstorm, you have lots of rain, which if strong enough can interfere with the engines. There is also hail which can do significant damage to the skin of the plane and make it very difficult to handle. Third, there is lightning, and while airliners are supposed to be able to take a lighting strike, there are different types of lightning, and "positive lighting" has been known to poke holes in airplanes otherwise believed to be protected. Fourth, there can be lots and lots of ice. Airbus has already issued a letter warning of the danger of pitot icing as a result of this crash, and they know that at least one of the airspeed indicators wasn't working properly, probably because it was iced over. Furthermore, with extreme turbulence, it can be difficult to even read the instruments. With lighting going off all around you, no visible horizon, and you being vibrated and thrown around in your seatbelts, it is very easy to become disoriented and lose control, possibly to the point of overstressing the airframe and ripping it apart. A thunderstorm like this is about the most dangerous place for an airplane to be. I'm certain that one way or another, that is what did them in.