Can a plane crash because of a storm?

Answer 1

In rare instances planes can crash due to poor weather. These instances become more rare every year, but do still occur.

When you refer to "Storms" I assume you are meaning wild winds, lightening and hail. Modern air traffic control tries very hard to avoid allowing planes into these situations. The rule of thumb is that we try to avoid lightening by at least 25 miles. Wind is not an issue, although updrafts from storms can be a problem that could even damage the plane to the point where it becomes unable to fly. Micro bursts are massive downdrafts at the center of storms that can certainly cause issues. Wind sheer is also a problem.

There are two dangers when flying with regards to storms that pilots always watch for:

1. Damage to the aircraft due to turbulence, downdrafts or debris (including hail)

2. Low visibility causing controlled flight into terrain

Storms often come with very low visibility that can make landing and finding the runway more difficult. Years ago planes relied on A.M. radio stations to find their way in poor weather. Air ports also had A.M. transmitters to help planes find the final destination. These were fairly accurate, but hardly perfect and crashes did occur if the equipment failed or the pilot did not read the instruments correctly.

The next generation of equipment was called VOR and DME. This system allowed a plane to know, with a much greater accuracy, where they were. The VOR was a transmitter that sent very directional signals that pilots would fly along, a sort of road in the sky. The DME was an additional signal sent out by the VOR that told the pilot how many miles away from the VOR he was. ("He" because pilots were almost exclusively male back then). This equipment was far more reliable and easier to read. This greatly improved air safety. Finding the runway also became far more precise with this equipment. A procedure and system called "ILS" became available at larger airports to allow landing in weather as low as 1/4 mile visibility and 200 foot high clouds.

An even more reliable system of locating your position came next. This was called "LORAN" and did allow a far more precise locating of the plane. Ships also used this equipment.

The current technology that is used by aircraft is extremely precise. It is called GPS ans WAAS. Newer aircraft also have "look ahead radar" and terrain avoidance systems that let pilots know when the ground is getting close. On board "XM" weather radio also allows a perfect view of the storm ahead. Even the smallest aircraft can now afford these luxuries. This makes flying in storms much safer and allows aircraft more ways to avoid being in these storms.

While it is a reality that planes can crash due to bad weather, we pilots do absolutely everything we can to avoid getting into bad weather.

Ice is also a consideration while flying in bad weather. I have managed to pick up ice over Arizona in July. Anti icing is now available on most modern aircraft that would fly in poor weather. These systems allow the plane to remove (or prevent the start of) ice from the air frame. Ice can cause a plane to become too heavy and too poor aerodynamically to fly. This was a primary cause of smaller aircraft to crash in poor weather years ago.