DTN News: Finnish Fighter Jets Damaged By Volcanic Cloud
Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) HELSINKI - April 17, 2010: Finnish fighter jets which flew through the volcanic dust covering much of Europe suffered damage and the
air force warned Friday the cloud could have a significant impact on planes.
The air force F-18 Hornet jets were on training flights in northern Finland on Thursday morning, when airspace was still open, and the engines were later found to contain fine, volcanic ash dust.
"Based on the pictures, it was discovered that even short flights in ash dust may cause significant damage to an airplane's engine," the Finnish Defence Forces said in a statement.
Images taken inside one Hornet engine with a fibroscope camera indicated that the heat of the engine — around 1,000 degrees Celcius — had melted the ash inside the engine, blocking ventilation channels.
"Blockages of ventilation channels caused by melting ash lead engine components to overheat and material to weaken," it said, adding this could fracture rotating engine parts.
In the worst case, the weakening of component materials could cause "parts to detach and the engine to be destroyed," it said.
The Hornets exposed to the dust from the eruption of a volcano in Iceland would be checked thoroughly, with "at least some" of the engines detached and sent for further studies and repair.
The air force would keep a Hawk combat aircraft equipped with a tank to take atmospheric samples on standby to assist civilian authorities as necessary, it said, adding that operative military flights would continue normally.
Samples taken by the plane, which collects particle samples in a filter in the tank, could be used to analyze how much ash dust was in the air.
A huge cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland has spread over large part of Europe, shutting airports and forcing the cancellation of thousands of flights. Finland's airports were shut Thursday at midnight and flights are not due to resume until Saturday afternoon at earliest.
Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) HELSINKI - April 17, 2010: Finnish fighter jets which flew through the volcanic dust covering much of Europe suffered damage and the 
air force warned Friday the cloud could have a significant impact on planes.
The air force F-18 Hornet jets were on training flights in northern Finland on Thursday morning, when airspace was still open, and the engines were later found to contain fine, volcanic ash dust.
"Based on the pictures, it was discovered that even short flights in ash dust may cause significant damage to an airplane's engine," the Finnish Defence Forces said in a statement.
Images taken inside one Hornet engine with a fibroscope camera indicated that the heat of the engine — around 1,000 degrees Celcius — had melted the ash inside the engine, blocking ventilation channels.
"Blockages of ventilation channels caused by melting ash lead engine components to overheat and material to weaken," it said, adding this could fracture rotating engine parts.
In the worst case, the weakening of component materials could cause "parts to detach and the engine to be destroyed," it said.
The Hornets exposed to the dust from the eruption of a volcano in Iceland would be checked thoroughly, with "at least some" of the engines detached and sent for further studies and repair.
The air force would keep a Hawk combat aircraft equipped with a tank to take atmospheric samples on standby to assist civilian authorities as necessary, it said, adding that operative military flights would continue normally.
Samples taken by the plane, which collects particle samples in a filter in the tank, could be used to analyze how much ash dust was in the air.
A huge cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland has spread over large part of Europe, shutting airports and forcing the cancellation of thousands of flights. Finland's airports were shut Thursday at midnight and flights are not due to resume until Saturday afternoon at earliest.
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