At least now they know now just how dangerous volcanic ash is for aircraft.
It "sandblasts" the windows (making it impossible to see out) and the glass on the landing lights (making them fairly useless), it damages the fuselage and anything on the outside of the plane, clogs up the machinery, is electrostatic so it interferes with radio signals - but the worst thing is that the heat of jet engines can turn the dust into glass, which stops the engines from working!
When a British Airways flight flew into a dust cloud in 1982, the crew had no idea what was happening. The story is fascinating:
British Airways Flight 9 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and what was learned from that experience made people much more aware of the dangers of volcanic ash, and changed the procedures involved.
Which is why everyone is stranded.
It "sandblasts" the windows (making it impossible to see out) and the glass on the landing lights (making them fairly useless), it damages the fuselage and anything on the outside of the plane, clogs up the machinery, is electrostatic so it interferes with radio signals - but the worst thing is that the heat of jet engines can turn the dust into glass, which stops the engines from working!
When a British Airways flight flew into a dust cloud in 1982, the crew had no idea what was happening. The story is fascinating:
British Airways Flight 9 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and what was learned from that experience made people much more aware of the dangers of volcanic ash, and changed the procedures involved.
Which is why everyone is stranded.