With the summer +TS wx everywhere right now, perhaps time to look at this again…
Speaking of TS, an accident I find frightening is the loss of a DA 42 following a lightening strike which apparently damaged the stabilizer.
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=17435
Does anyone have a good understanding of the reasons of this accident ? (Ie why the structure wasn’t able to withstand the strike)
I don’t think there has been a modification of the plane after this occurrence (only a checklist amendment but I am unsure of how it may solve the problem)
To cheer you up a bit, I survived lightning strike in DA42 with minor winglets damage. The problem, later solved with new winglets, was that winglets in early models were not connected to the rest of aircraft’s grounding system and they didn’t have static dischargers. As a consequence, lightning burned trailing edges of winglets at exit points.
I can’t say whether it was the case in specified accident but it might be related to bonding and aircraft’s ability to conduct electricity.
