Mauna Loa is the largest volcano Active in the world and located in Hawaii🇧🇷 It erupted on Sunday (27th) for the first time in nearly 40 years. For this reason, the state’s Department of Transportation recommends that people traveling to Hilo and Ellison Onizuka-Kona International Airports check their flight status. The recommendation is a safety measure against the damage that the soot expelled from the volcano can cause.
Although the US Federal Administration monitors volcanic eruptions to issue air traffic alerts, aircraft encounters with the smoke cloud can still occur. According to the US Geological Survey, soot clouds are difficult to detect because of their resemblance to normal clouds both visually and by radar. They can also reach great distances.
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Why can ash clouds from volcanoes damage planes?
For Airbus, the journey between soot clouds is not destined. The measure followed an incident in 2010 in Ireland, when a volcanic eruption sent a large amount of ash overhead. Atlantic Ocean🇧🇷 The company has realized that soot can cause numerous damages to aircraft, such as damage to windshields, engines, ventilation systems, and hydraulic and electronic systems.
This is because the particles in the clouds that are expelled by volcanoes have a melting point much lower than the temperature at which engines reach. Upon contact with it, it instantly melts. In a turbine, this material cools, hardens, and sticks to the blades, impeding the flow of high-pressure combustion gases.
Near-fatal accidents occurred due to soot. In 1982, a flight departing London, United Kingdom, towards Auckland, New Zealand, encountered a cloud of ash emanating from a volcano on the island of Java, Indonesia, which caused all four engines of the aircraft to fail. airplane🇧🇷 However, the situation was managed and the plane was able to land safely.
Since they cannot be detected by meteorological radars, pilots and airlines need to know in detail the predictions of explosions on their routes. Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers are also working with meteorological agencies to try to predict the displacement of these geyser clouds.
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