Those daring young men in their…
I thought that the Europeans were self-panicking and over reacting to the volcanic eruption of <unpronounceable name> in Iceland, but the ever-practical Fins have flown in the dust, and have provided photos of what it did to their engines:
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/04/16/340727/pictures-finnish-f-18-engine-check-reveals-effects-of-volcanic.html
I trust they are being honest about any warranties they have voided.
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I’ve read accounts about what happens when airplanes fly through volcanic ash (I was trained as a Flight Engineer): it’s like a sandblasting. Windows become opaque, the pitot system (used to measure altitude, airspeed) fills up with dust so instrumentation fails.
Ashes sucked up by the engine cause massive damage because they’re abrasive, and engine flame-outs. Also, particles melt in the combustion chamber and then coalesce on the turbine blades, ruining their performance.
Some interesting reads:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_9
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KLM_Flight_867
There usually isn’t a lot of self-panicking going on in Yurop. Aside from the (worldwide) Mexican flu and ‘OMG terrorists’ scares ;)
The TV series ‘Mayday’ had an episode on the British Airways Flight 9 (Season 4) that is worth seeing, you won’t mess with flying through volcanic ash after seeing it. Those F-18s got off light.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayday_%28TV_series%29
Bumped into this very interesting video through a link on Slashdot and don’t want to withhold it.
This guy explains succinctly what happens in an aero engine when volcanic ash is ingested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX8NMY7Qtxk, Volcanic Ash and Jet Engines, by Sixty Symbols.