So, There are thousands stranded around the world, cargo rots in hangars, business meetings, holidays and millions of personally urgent meetings and events are in limbo. Airlines and economies are losing millions and millions of pounds every passing hour and the general public perception is that modern jet aircraft cannot fly in atmospheric conditions where volcanic ash is present.
The headlines are there for all to see, it is sensational in as much as it is unprecedented and the fact is the volcano could continue erupting for years and with it comes the threat of major airlines going bust, national economies collapsing back into recession and untold difficulties for a European population that take air travel for granted.
The science behind this unprecedented situation comes from primarily one incident of a British Airways flight that lost all four engines when transiting directly through the plume of an actively erupting volcano in the Philipines. A similar event happened in Alaska where an airliner suffered engine failure when flying through an erupting plume and other similar events have happened in zones of high density volcanic ash.
Considering that there are volcano's erupting somewhere in the world all the time it stands to reason that there would be some levels of volcanic ash in the atmosphere all of the time. There are a couple of questions:
1) What concentrations of volcanic ash can safely be ingested by a jet engine?
2) What are the actual levels of ash concentration in the skies above Europe right now?
The answer to Question (1) should be readily available - as should the answer to Question (2) but it may surprise you to learn that despite this unprecedented situation no-one has actually measured the levels of ash in our atmosphere and that this whole situation has come about because of computer models created by the UK Met Office.
Yes, it is true - a single solitary source of predictions/projections has resulted in the grounding of all of Europe's airspace. Is it any wonder then that our European cousins are now demanding a re-evaluation of the situation and some facts as opposed to predictions from an entity already seriously in disrepute.
From the world that brought you - Swine Flu, Mad Cow disease, Weapons of Mass Destruction and now - Volcanic ash plumes
I would guess that the wind direction (oevr a heavilly populated, and dense air-traffic zone) and the particular density/consistancy of the ash in that area posed a particularly high, and rather unique (due to the ash vapourising through ic, so I understand) that has caused extra concern in unprecidented circumstances.
I wouldn't like to be the person declaring the air-space safe due to financial pressures from outside, and then be the proud witness of dozens of happy holiday maker-filled airliners plummet from the skies.
lp
Funny part is that the VAAD satelite shows NO plumes.
inb4...
Volcano's don't exist, Volcano is a CIA plant, Big phama will be offering TammiAsh® to protect against toxic ash, Eurasia , oil pipe lines etc...
When I heard there was a big cloud of fine powder coming from Iceland I thought Kerry Katona had sneezed.
Revisiting this today and we find that the pressure is building and test aircraft have returned unscathed, unmarked and in perfect working condition.
A good report on the BBC today:
Interesting story and pictures here:
When British Airways state that their test flight suffered no damage I wonder if they bothered to boroscope their engines?
and the fluoride can be passed on to those eating the meat and drinking the milk. That dust is now falling on Britain. Levels of fluoride are being monitored. As yet we are not in danger.
It's more than dust!
The British airways jet flew 60 miles from an actively discharging vent straight into the plume. The density of this plume had they flown through it in daylight would have turned day into night.
This is hardly a comparison to todays events but ironically The Met Office made the same assumptions that you have and that is how the "crisis" unfurled.
Airliners pass throgh dispersed plumes of volcanic ash every day of their working lives because at any one time there are 20 active volcano's erupting somewhere on earth. Now take one very small one - in Iceland - and it has grounded Europe. There are 19 others going off right now - where do you think their plumes are? They are dispersing into the atmosphere.
I did rob. Especially the callers on radio 4 bleating about Jocasta being unable to get back from the fencing tournament.
This just about is bang on the money big time...
Perfectly put.
Yaknow Kent I think I agree.
The difference between military aircraft and civilian aircraft engines is better described thus:
If the military engine suffers failure or drastically reduced power, the crew eject and are alive (if a bit injured).
If the civil aircraft suffers engine failure or drastically reduced power, the crew and passengers suffer rapid death.
Or:
It's just the bottom line: The airline loses money. Never mind the passengers.
:twisted: