The day a lightning strike at O'Hare changed my whole preflight routine

Back in 2017 I was working a line shift at O'Hare and a 737 got hit by lightning right after pushback. Nobody got hurt but the static discharge fried three avionics boxes and grounded the plane for two days. Ever since that happened I always check the static wicks and bonding straps before signing off any release. Has anyone else seen lightning damage change how they inspect things?

2 comments

2 Comments

river_fox1816d ago

Three static wicks is overkill, lightning's so rare it's not worth the extra time.

amyb5416d ago

Call out @river_fox18 on that because I don't think it's about how rare lightning is, it's about what happens when it does hit. Did you ever have to explain to a pilot why their radios are dead after a strike they swear wasn't that bad? I've seen bonding straps that looked fine but had a hairline crack from an old strike, causing static buildup that messed with navigation for weeks. How do you balance being efficient with making sure a cheap part doesn't ground a plane for two days?