Revolutions: How much of a threat are meteors to aviation?(blog.revolution-computing.com)
blog.revolution-computing.com
Revolutions: How much of a threat are meteors to aviation?
http://blog.revolution-computing.com/2009/06/how-much-of-a-threat-are-meteors-to-aviation.html
8 comments
A smaller threat than they are to automobiles, or persons walking on the street.
Hm. Bigger area, marginally more likely to be hit while at cruising altitude, more catastrophic results if something critical is hit. I don't think that meteorites are a serious problem for aircraft, but given some probability that they'll be hit, I can't see how it's less of a problem than for automobiles.
The total area of all cars and people in the world is much greater than the total area of all aircraft. Unless you hear a lot about meteor strikes destroying cars and people, it's utterly irrational of you to worry about aircraft.
Delicious tidbit from Wikipedia: The only reported fatality from meteorite impacts is an Egyptian dog that was killed in 1911 by the Nakhla meteorite, although this report is disputed.
Delicious tidbit from Wikipedia: The only reported fatality from meteorite impacts is an Egyptian dog that was killed in 1911 by the Nakhla meteorite, although this report is disputed.
The total area of all cars and people in the world is much greater than the total area of all aircraft.
Ah, I see. It hadn't occurred to me that they were speaking collectively. In any case, it primarily matters to me whether the plane I'm in is in more or less danger from meteorites than the car I'm in (or would be, if either danger were worth considering). The relative chances of a hit object being a car or person rather than a plane are much less relevant to my interests, and there's nothing that I could do about it if I cared.
Ah, I see. It hadn't occurred to me that they were speaking collectively. In any case, it primarily matters to me whether the plane I'm in is in more or less danger from meteorites than the car I'm in (or would be, if either danger were worth considering). The relative chances of a hit object being a car or person rather than a plane are much less relevant to my interests, and there's nothing that I could do about it if I cared.
Edit: Hoofbeats, zebras, etc? No?
I worry when this type of thing is even be brought up in public debate. Innumeracy is so big a problem among the kino and lottery set that another thing to be afraid of in aviation might lead to regulation (or the attempt of) mandating super expensive "meteorite preparedness" systems in commercial aviation.