Airline Reviewed For Lightning Procedures

Mechanics at New York City's JFK airport have complained that American Airlines' new procedures for reviewing lightning-struck planes are lax, so the company will meet with the mechanics this week. American is being careful to say that this is "not an investigation."

Business Week says that the average plane is struck by lightning once per year, though a previous blog I published quoted "twice a year." In any case, they are built to withstand it (though as I wrote last year, plastic planes need special lightning protection).

I think it's a worthwhile procedure to investigate... while lightning has not caused a plane crash in the last 40 years, it has certainly damaged them (see this New Zealand damage story [for which the photo is no longer available] and this U.K. nose damage photo).