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Public Issues: Aircraft Hazards

Volcanic clouds pose a great threat to aircraft today. A volcanic cloud consists of many harmful aspects creating hazards for aircraft. Volcanic clouds consist of many ash particles which can resemble fiberglass in many ways. It just so happens that if an airplane would fly through or even close to the volcanic cloud, the engines of the aircraft could suck in the ash. Then, that ash would get stuck in the engines and at the same time it would be heated from being in the engine itself. As the ash would get hotter in temperature, it would then start to melt and adhere to the engine. The more ash the engine sucks in, the more ash gets melted to the inside of the engine, disrupting the engines from performing normal. It is also known that volcanic clouds may consist of objects such as rocks being projected out from the vent of the volcano. According to physics of nature, the bigger the rock, the less time it will remain in the air so it is possible that any aircraft near a cloud could experience small rock projectiles, ruining the airplane's dynamics by impacting on the outside of the plane. The impacts from such projectiles can cause major dents, possibly cracking or even breaking windows as well as getting caught in the engines, and can damage the engine more than from the ash. For further information on this subject, see Gari Mayberry's web page on Volcanic Ash Clouds and Aircraft Safety.

http://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/vc_web/o_aircraft.html -- Revised: 26 DECEMBER 2002
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