In this article, we will share with you Shocking Footage of Kuwaiti F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet getting hit by lightning while flying through clouds
The following video is pretty impressive. It shows a F/A-18C being hit by a lightning bolt.
Along with the flash of light, you can clearly hear a loud bang inside the cockpit, taking the pilot by surprise. Shock aside, the aircraft was probably not really damaged by the bolt.
The close encounters between jets and lightning occur every now and then around the globe, usually causing little to no damage at all to the planes. Usually.
In the 1980s, some F-16 Fighting Falcon jets were lost after being hit by a lightining strike.
In one case, the lightning ignited the vapors in the empty centerline tank, which exploded causing extended damage to the aircraft’s hydraulic system.
on Dec. 19, 2017, a B-52 Stratofortress (60-0051), during landing was hit by a lightning strike that tore a person-sized gash completely through the tail of the aircraft!
See Details: B-52 Got STRUCK BY LIGHTNING THAT LEAVES MAN-SIZED HOLE IN HER TAIL
Since lightning strikes are quite rare (1 event each year on average) these are seldom a real risk to military or civil aviation.
Furthermore, planes are shielded by a so-called Faraday Cage externally made by a conducting material, that blocks out external static electrical fields: charges redistribute on the conducting material and don’t affect the cage’s interior.
