{"id":118360,"date":"2023-09-05T13:29:04","date_gmt":"2023-09-05T13:29:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cottontailsonline.com\/?p=118360"},"modified":"2023-09-05T13:29:04","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T13:29:04","slug":"dreamliner-pilot-reveals-how-a-storm-can-make-an-aircraft-unflyable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cottontailsonline.com\/travel\/dreamliner-pilot-reveals-how-a-storm-can-make-an-aircraft-unflyable\/","title":{"rendered":"Dreamliner pilot reveals how a storm can make an aircraft &apos;unflyable&apos;"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>&#8216;Horrendous turbulence&#8217; and the aircraft could become &#8216;unflyable&#8217;: Pilots reveal why they are VERY keen to fly around storms<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Here the pilot reveals what could happen in the worst-case scenario<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Storms can lead to multiple issues, including the risk of an aircraft stalling<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: How air traffic controllers take revenge on disobedient pilots<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The next time a big storm is cited as the reason for your flight delay, try to suppress your annoyance \u2013 and be thankful instead that air traffic control or the flight crew aren&#8217;t willing to take any chances.<\/p>\n<p>As a Dreamliner captain revealed to MailOnline Travel, if a storm is severe enough, it could make the aircraft &#8216;unflyable&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>He said: &#8216;[In a storm there would be] horrendous turbulence, which would likely lead to lots of injuries to passengers and crew as a minimum.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Worse-case scenario &#8211; either loss of control of the aircraft or possibly a structural failure across control surfaces such as ailerons, elevator, rudder, which would make the aircraft unflyable.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Pilot Rick James, who runs pilotteacher.com, further explains that storms can create &#8216;strong windshears with rapidly changing wind directions&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/04\/15\/75044099-12479189-image-a-11_1693837994391.jpg\" height=\"421\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>A Dreamliner captain revealed to MailOnline Travel that if a storm is severe enough, it could make an aircraft &#8216;unflyable&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>If an aircraft takes off and the wind direction suddenly pivots, this can stall the aircraft.<\/p>\n<p>He adds that storms can contain super-cooled water droplets that freeze upon impact with an aircraft, leading to a potentially dangerous ice build-up.<\/p>\n<p>Ice adds weight to the aircraft, alters the flow of air around it and can freeze up the fuel and flight controls.<\/p>\n<p>Captain Steve Allright, who runs British Airways&#8217; Flying with Confidence course for nervous flyers, reveals in the fascinating companion book &#8211; Flying With Confidence: The Proven Programme To Fix Your Flying Fears (Random House UK) \u2013 that storms are the adverse weather condition most likely to lead to a diversion.<\/p>\n<p>Captain Allright says: &#8216;Flight crew would be highly unlikely to take off or land with a huge thunderstorm overhead because of rapidly changing wind conditions, lightning and heavy precipitation in the form of rain or hail.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/04\/15\/68822877-12479189-Captain_Steve_Allright_runs_British_Airways_Flying_with_Confiden-a-3_1693837548911.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Captain Steve Allright, who runs British Airways&#8217; Flying with Confidence course for nervous flyers, reveals that storms are the adverse weather condition most likely to lead to a diversion\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Fortunately, commercial aircraft are fitted with high-technology weather radar that detects this precipitation, enabling the flight crew to identify a thunderstorm from over 100 miles (160km) away and take avoiding action, day or night.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It is possible to fly through a thunderstorm safely, and sometimes this is necessary because of crowded airspace. This will feel quite turbulent and uncomfortable in the cabin, but it is totally safe. Thunderstorms are really only a problem if there is a big storm over an airfield you are trying to land at.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/04\/15\/68501575-12479189-High_flyer_Veteran_Air_Canada_Dreamliner_captain_Doug_Morris-a-2_1693837509200.jpg\" height=\"207\" width=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>Air Canada Dreamliner captain Doug Morris (above) in his fascinating book This Is Your Captain Speaking explains how he is always on the lookout for storms<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;The wind around and beneath a thunderstorm can change in speed and direction very quickly, which would change the amount of lift being produced by the wings.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Veteran Air Canada Dreamliner captain Doug Morris in his fascinating book This Is Your Captain Speaking (ECW Press) explains that he is always on the lookout for thunderstorms.<\/p>\n<p>He writes: &#8216;One of the best methods, still to this day, for avoiding showers, heavy rain, and turbulent cloud is with a pair of eyeballs.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;At night, you&#8217;ll find me with the flight deck lighting turned down, looking intently outside and scanning the sky. [If] we are near a thunderstorm, I have the flight deck lights dimmed and, usually, the external strobe lights turned off, finding the best path to get out of this meteorological predicament.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/travel\/article-12479189\/Why-pilots-keen-fly-big-storms-Dreamliner-captain-revealing-make-aircraft-unflyable.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;Horrendous turbulence&#8217; and the aircraft could become &#8216;unflyable&#8217;: Pilots reveal why they are VERY keen to fly around storms Here the pilot reveals what could happen in the worst-case scenario<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Dreamliner pilot reveals how a storm can make an aircraft &amp;apos;unflyable&amp;apos; 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