Can bad weather bring a plane down?

All planes are designed to fly through thunderstorms and have to comply with safety regulations. A rainstorm is unlikely to cause damage to the aircraft. The only danger of flying during bad weather is the risk of freezing rain, but in this case, your plane will most likely be delayed until the storm passes.



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Contrary to what many passengers believe, commercial airplanes can fly in almost all weather conditions and are rarely affected by lousy weather.

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Heavy snow or blizzards can make landing and taking off too dangerous, while lightning storms can be very hazardous to any aircraft. Extreme heat can also interfere with an aircraft's performance, so in hotter parts of the world, extreme temperatures can cause significant delays.

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While high winds (a crosswind above 40 mph and a tailwind above 10 mph) can occasionally prevent planes from taking off or landing on time, winds won't put your flight in any danger.

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There is no single maximum wind speed that cancels flights, as it depends on the direction of wind and phase of flight. A crosswind above about 40mph and a tailwind above 10mph can start to cause problems and stop commercial jets from taking off and landing.

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Do Flights Get Cancelled Due to Thunderstorms? Yes, this can happen. In fact, many flights are cancelled regularly around the world due to thunderstorms making it dangerous or impossible to take off.

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Call the Airline or Check Its Website Often When you have an upcoming flight, you can typically get information on any potential delays or cancellations by calling the airline often or checking its website.

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For the period between January and April 2022, just 76% of nonstop, domestic flights arrived on time, according to the BTS. Meanwhile, about 20% of flights were delayed (also a high not seen since 2014) and 4% were canceled completely.

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Many airplanes have limitations on the amount of crosswind that is allowed for takeoff and landing. In the case of some airliners, it's around 40kts or about 45mph or 21 Mps. A 15 mph tailwind is good. A 15 mph headwind is not so good, but is usually no big deal.

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Yes, a 'plane can land in 50 mph winds. Specifically, different airlines will set the parameters for maximum crosswind factors flight crews can land in and not all airlines have the same criteria. The B-52 can. The wings are so long it could easily hit the ground in a crosswind landing.

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Pretty much any airplane can easily fly in 25 mph winds. If that is a direct crosswind that might make landing smaller aircraft more challenging, but airliners, no problems.

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If the airline cancels your flight or it's significantly delayed (a term currently defined on a case-by-case basis) and you're forced to change your travel plans, the Department of Transportation requires airlines to provide a full refund. Unfortunately, getting a refund is often a lengthy and frustrating process.

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Whether flying at night or during the day, pilots need to see some kind of horizon. They use this to determine the airplane's attitude. At night pilots will turn their gaze from outside to inside and use the artificial horizon. The artificial horizon is normally a simply globe split into two hemispheres.

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Most pilots try to avoid flying an airplane into severe weather, but not the NOAA Hurricane Hunters. Their job is to fly specially equipped aircraft directly into the eye of the storm to collect crucial data that helps protects lives and property.

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