| Technology vs Nature |
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| Aeronautic | |
| Written by Rick | |
| Monday, 01 June 2009 17:00 | |
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Yesterday was a sad day for the Aeronautics industry and at least 228 people. An Air-France A330 Airbus was lost over the Atlantic Ocean somewhere between Rio de Janeiro and Paris last night. Air France said the A330 plane sent an automatic message at 0214 GMT indicating an electrical circuit failure. There were no other official details on the possible cause of the crash. Lightning strikes are fairly common but planes built out of metal like the A330 are designed to be able to shake them off. The massive current passes along the metal fuselage and is allowed to arc towards earth without causing harm. The idea is based on a principle known as a Faraday Cage, which protects passengers inside a mesh of conducting material. It appears Faraday's Cage might not always work. In the worst previously recorded incident blamed on lightning, 113 people were killed in 1962 on a Boeing 707, coincidently also operated by Air France. My heart goes out to the family and friends of the lost loved ones. In the end I hope technology is not to blame on this incident. Unfortunately, it seems pretty obvious technology bites again.
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I received a comment via email today....
Thanks for the kudos!!
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