Are Planes taking off in Thunderstorms normal?

On 2007-05-06 05:11:53 -0700, "Dudley Henriques" said:


"Bertie the Bunyip" wrote in message
.130...
"Dudley Henriques" wrote in
:


"Bertie the Bunyip" wrote in message
. 130...
"Dudley Henriques" wrote in
:


wrote in message
ps.com...
On May 5, 5:10 pm, Mxsmanic wrote:
Aircraft normally wait for thunderstorms to pass before taking
off. No aircraft is safe in a thunderstorm.

So most likely the Kenya Airways flight didn't follow procedure or
receive clearance?

Hard to say not knowing the exact situation, but in my opinion, only
a pilot with a death wish accepts a takeoff clearance in the middle
of a thunderstorm.

It doesn't neceesarily follow that he took off in the middle of a
CB...

I agree. To do that would have been against all my sense of logic
anyway. Stranger things have happened, and pilots do indeed from time
to time push weather for one reason or another but I'd hate to second
guess this poor guy at this point. It's been my experience that what
appears almost certain immediately after these things seldom carries
through the investigation.

Precisely. I've flown in that part of the world quite a lot and the CBs
have to be seen to be believed. I've been at 310 and had the tops
further away than the bottoms as often as not. The size of them is also
astonishing and seeing into a large, tight group of cells is next to
impossible, even with the best radar. It's hard work but it has to be
done or you're on the ground for the best part of six months there.

Bertie

Reminds me of an old story I heard once that was going around UAL for
awhile;

A major airline hired a new first officer right out of post graduate school
and stuck him in the right seat of a 737 with a crusty old Captain who came
up through the ranks after dropping out of high school.
On their first flight together, the Captain told the first officer to just
sit back and watch and do absolutely nothing.
The Captain took off, climbed to FL 360 as filed and leveled off. He set the
autopilot and inertial nav for waypoints and told the first officer that he
was going to take a nap. The first officer was to touch nothing.......do
nothing! Under NO circumstances, was he to disturb the Captain.
The Captain went to sleep.
The first officer sat there watching the panel. After a while he noticed on
the weather radar a HUGE storm ahead directly in the path of the airplane.
He watched with interest and gathering alarm as the storm got closer and
closer.
At about twenty miles, the storm looked absolutely frightening; the biggest
thing he had ever seen in his life. He just stared at it on the screen while
he pondered the Captain's request not to be disturbed for any reason.
Finally, fearing that if a course correction wasn't made immediately, the
storm would tear the airplane apart, he decided he couldn't wait any longer
to wake the Captain.
"Captain.......Captain" he said, "wake up sir...look at this!! It's my
sincere recommendation sir, that we circumnavigate that storm
immediately!!!!!!!!!!!"
The Captain awoke in a start and took one look at the radar screen;
"Circumnavigate my ass!!!!!!. We're goin AROUND that son-of-a-bitch!!!!!"

Dudley Henriques

I am certain that I have flown with that guy.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor