Lightening Strikes (Bellanca Fly Inn)

I just read about a fly inn at Plainview Texas this last weekend where at least two airplanes were struck by lightening while parked on the ramp. Having never even thought about this before when parking outside I was surprised to read about more than one plane being hit. It turns out that at least one of them was struck on the propeller and I'm wondering what you do if that happens? In response to this particular item somebody else chimed in and claims that if you get a strike on the prop a teardown is in order. At this point if the bearings are magnatized the engine gets a teardown too. What a scary horrible thing to have happen. Do those of you who live in areas with thunderstorms happening regularly hear of this often? What could you do to prevent this if space inside a hanger isn't available? Would parking next to a light pole on the ramp or a building divert the chance of getting your plane hit? If none of these are available would parking next to a taller airplane help?

Blue Skies,

Lightning

I was struck on the left prop while flying a King Air 200. They disassembled the engine for inspection, and replaced one prop blade. Big Bucks.

That's gonna leave a mark!

Bryan Wood said:

I just read about a fly inn at Plainview Texas this last weekend where at least two airplanes were struck by lightening while parked on the ramp.

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I'm assuming this is gonna leave some type of kind of mark? Something that you might look for during pre-flight? If not, chances are you'll never know your plane was struck while on the ground...

Biggest problem I see with this is the current is going to arc across the bearing surfaces on your crankshaft or prop thrust bearing on it's way to the frame, and again across your wheel bearings on it's way to the ground. We all know what arc marks on smooth bearing surfaces will do over time....

airguy said:

Biggest problem I see with this is the current is going to arc across the bearing surfaces on your crankshaft or prop thrust bearing on it's way to the frame, and again across your wheel bearings on it's way to the ground. We all know what arc marks on smooth bearing surfaces will do over time....

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I recently did a mishap investigation here at work on an incident where a 440 volt short circuit arced through a large robotic arm actuator/joint - made a real mess of a close-tolerance bearing, just as you pointed out! This wasn't even a space-quality part, and still was going to cost as much as new Lycoming to get repaired!

I'd never thought about having my prop struck by lightning on the ground....not pleasant...

Paul

Horizontal prop

Believe it or not, a horizontal prop is far less likely to be hit than when one blade is vertical....remember the golfers getting hit as their clubs arc up?

Secondly, do not use chains to hold the airplane down. Use rope. My previous PT-6 powered Air Tractor was sold to a guy who bucked it down with chains real tight. A storm hit with lightning and the next day his fuel pump and starter were fried since the current went throuth the front main bearing, arced it, then through the starter, the fuselage and the wings then through the chains to a good ground Several days later the chip light came on and they found metal in the gearbox chip detector and the engine was torn down....front ball bearings eaten up.....total bill ....Over ten grand

Regards,
Pierre

It stands to reason, then, that you should park next to golfers to keep the lightening away

On the other hand, being a golfer myself, I assure you that the damage from errant golf balls will dwarf whatever a measly lightening bolt could do to your plane.

Or, just do what golfers do- carry a 1 iron. If it starts to storm, take the 1 iron out of your bag (baggage) and lean it against your prop. Because, as we all know, not even God can hit a 1 iron.

you will probaby know

You will probably know if your plane was struck by lightning while you were away. The avionics and other electrical systems will probably be toasted.

That happened to me on a sailboat I owned once. I suppose it is possible that you can have a lightning strike without damage to electical items, but it seems unlikely.