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Giant Hailstones Can Spoil Your Flight

Posted by michael on from the keep-seat-belt-fastened-while-seated dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The BBC has the story and picture of an Airbus 312 jet which flew through a giant-hail storm and was left with serious damage."

5 of 37 comments (clear)

  1. A lesson about journalists by PD · · Score: 4, Informative

    There is no such thing as an Airbus 312. The airplane that flew through the hailstorm was an Airbus 321, a rather common plane in service around the world.

    The lesson is really a question: if a journalist, who is supposed to be an expert in reporting the facts, can't even get the type of aircraft right, then what else are they reporting incorrectly? Something to think about while watching CNN tonight.

    --
    If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
  2. Wrong. by Kedyn's+Crow · · Score: 3, Informative

    A simple Google search shows the existance of an Airbus A340-312, which is likley what this lazy reporter was reffering to. I agree with you about journalists though. It's a good day for them when they get 3 out of four 4 straight.

    --
    "The moment "pride" is lost, "freedom" is also lost." - Ramza.
  3. Wrong? Right back atcha! by Dahan · · Score: 4, Informative
    A simple Google search shows the existance of an Airbus A340-312

    Another simple Google search shows that every other article says the plane was an Airbus A321.

  4. Re:Hey, who's flying this thing? by Detritus · · Score: 2, Informative

    They were lucky. I remember an accident in the southern United States where a DC-9 tried to fly through a severe thunderstorm with hail. Both engines were destroyed and the plane crashed, killing everyone on board.

    --
    Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
  5. Re:Radom damage by Alioth · · Score: 3, Informative

    Avoiding CBs is all very well - if you're flying under VFR (visual flight rules) you can just look out for the clouds, and steer around them.

    Embedded CBs are another kettle of fish. If you're already in another, otherwise benign cloud, you may not see the CB you're about to wander through. Airliners have weather radar to mitigate the risk of flying through a cell, but it does happen (limitations of the instrument, equipment failure, pilot error - radar pointed at the wrong thing etc). If you look through the NTSB reports, you'll find one or two airliners or corporate aircraft that encounter hail every year. Light GA planes encounter it (usually an embedded thunderstorm) a bit more often as they generally don't have expensive radar installations - although most GA pilots simply don't fly IFR when there are thunderstorms around.

    --
    Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows