X

Search for Knowledge!

Sort by Category

Categories

Sort by Date

«December 2024»
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
24252627282930
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930311234

Latest Knowledge

Latest Knowledge

  • All
  • Mishap Reporting & Investigation
  • On-Duty
  • Aviation
  • Military Ops & Training
  • Government Vehicle
  • Workplace
  • DA Civilian
  • Explosives & Weapons
  • Off-Duty
  • PMV-4
  • PMV-2
  • Recreational & Specialty Vehicle
  • Sports & Recreation
  • Privately Owned Weapons
  • Home & Family
    More
    An Unintended Highway Exit 0 PMV-4
    USACRC Editor

    An Unintended Highway Exit

    Every day, safety is enforced in my company through risk assessments, briefs or training. The fact is my job is very safe due to the restrictions, policies and regulations put into place to mitigate many of the hazards I may face. The most...
    Rolling the Dice 0 Aviation
    USACRC Editor

    Rolling the Dice

    If you have been in the Army Aviation branch for more than a day, you’ve probably heard, “Those who have and those who will.” Here’s my story.

    No content

    A problem occurred while loading content.

    Previous Next

    A Shocking Surprise

    A Shocking Surprise

    NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST

    The weather forecast was typical of a warm, North Carolina spring afternoon — visibility was great with 10 miles and a 30 percent chance of isolated thunderstorms. We had based our mission operations out of a local airport. As lead aircraft in a flight of three Black Hawks, we were completing our last leg of what was considered a routine infiltration/exfiltration mission.

    We were 15 miles from the base operations airport and closing quickly. The unit flight operations had already radioed a weather update reporting a line of thunderstorms in the area, so we knew we needed to hurry. In the distance, lightning began flashing around a storm we were attempting to beat back to the airport.

    We’d only been on the ground a few minutes and had begun to shut down when torrents of rain started to fall. All crew chiefs were directed to get back in the aircraft. Lightning was striking close enough that no one wanted to be outside or make the risky 100-yard dash to the base operations building. Instead, everyone held fast at their crew duty stations inside the aircraft.

    After a period of time, the rain began letting up and everyone either got out or shifted around within the aircraft, trying to stay dry while getting a breath of fresh air. Most moved to the cargo area inside the aircraft because the rainwater was still flowing over the tarmac.

    The wind continued to blow a light rain over the aircraft. The left cargo door remained open, but it somewhat sheltered us from the elements. That’s where I decided to stand. I leaned back against the two center forward/aft facing seatback support posts to wait out the rain.

    We had pulled out the laptop to close the mission and began to informally discuss the after-action details when another wave of wind and rain resumed with lightning trailing 3-4 miles away. In what seemed like 15-20 seconds, the lightning moved to within one-half a mile. I moved toward the inside of the aircraft but wasn’t quite fast enough.

    A bolt of lightning lit up the immediate area with a brilliant flash accompanied by the sound of electricity moving over the outside skin of the aircraft. The hair on my arms and neck literally stood on end. There was a sudden loud snap (like that of arcing electricity) and a sting in the middle of my back. The jolt of electricity took my breath away, moving down my back and legs to the ground and leaving a small, red welt on my back. My legs and feet felt numb and tingly, and I was now 6 feet from the aircraft, bent over.

    I know the aircraft has grounding cables on the inside of each main landing gear, but bigger is better (as far as grounding goes). The path of least resistance comes to mind. Lightning had moved over the skin of the aircraft and down the metal cargo area seatback support posts. The strike left two one-eighth-inch scorch marks one-quarter an inch apart on the seatback support post canvas covering. I’m not sure what the right answer was to prevent this incident, but one thing is for sure: it wasn’t standing outside the aircraft acting as an additional grounding rod!

     

    Did You Know?

    In the United States, there are an estimated 25 million lightning flashes each year. During the past 30 years, lightning killed an average of 62 people per year. Lightning can strike not only people on the ground; it can also strike the skin of an aircraft and its electronic components. Lightning generally occurs within 5,000 feet of the freezing level, in light precipitation or light to negligible turbulence. Lightning “crawlers” can travel more than 35 miles along the clouds and have been observed out to 75 miles on radar.

     

    • 9 June 2024
    • Author: USACRC Editor
    • Number of views: 384
    • Comments: 0
    Categories: On-DutyAviation
    Tags:
    Print