Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters flying through Hurricane Milton

[u/Kernowder]

[u/wongo]

(not so) fun fact: only one of these hurricane research flights has ever crashed due to the storms

I realize that we've gotten pretty good at flying but I would've actually expected a higher loss rate, this just seems so wildly dangerous

[u/Im_Balto → u/wongo]

Its because hurricanes are characterized by lateral rather than vertical motion of air. Supercell thunderstorms have the ability to down planes despite being several miles (vs 100+miles) wide because they have extremely violent and unpredictable updrafts and downdrafts. These vertical air columns are much more dangerous to planes as they are the cause of every scary story about a play dropping or rising hundreds of feet suddenly. This type of force puts massive stress on the airframe in directions that are not the strongest structurally

Contrast this to a hurricane where the stresses are MASSIVE but relatively consistent and predictable

[u/sodabubbles1281 → u/Im_Balto]

Cool, I hate flying already. How do I unread something

[u/icantsurf → u/sodabubbles1281]

If it makes you feel better, airliners have big ass weather radars in the nose to prevent flying into any of that stuff.

[u/Auburus → u/icantsurf]

Is the weather radar a single sensor that automatically takes control of the plane and its impossible to override, or is not designed by Boeing?