Managing Lightning

Lightning always gets your attention. It should. On average, 51 people die in the U.S. each year from lightning strikes, making it the second-most common cause of storm-related deaths in the country, behind only floods. Hundreds more people are struck by lightning each year in the U.S., resulting in significant injury. Lightning strikes, however, mostly affect people on the ground and generally cause little to no injury to pilots in the air despite NOAA estimates that there are about 25 million lightning strikes in the U.S. each year.

Key Takeaways:

• While lightning causes many ground fatalities, aircraft are frequently struck but rarely suffer catastrophic damage or pilot injury due to protective designs like the Faraday cage.
• Lightning strikes can cause minor aircraft skin damage, temporary avionics issues, or, less commonly, engine flameouts, but modern certified systems are designed to withstand these transients.
• Pilots should treat lightning as a critical indicator of severe weather (e.g., hail, strong winds, turbulence) and prioritize avoiding thunderstorms by maintaining safe distances or seeking alternative routes/landings.

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