"A packed Air France jet that disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean could have been struck by lightning, the firm has said.

Flight AF 447 had 228 people on board and was flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris when all contact was lost.

"The plane might have been struck by lightning. It's a possibility," said Francois Brousse, head of communications at Air France."

More here: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20090601/twl-lightning-strike-fears-for-missing-j-3fd0ae9.html

It's really sad :( It really creeps me out too, I hate flying anyway but now I'm even more scared to!!

see that's why I'm scared to fly

So tragic.

Wouldn't stop me flying though. Accidents like this are incredibly rare. You're still far more likely to be killed in a road accident.

As tragic as this is, it kind of reminds me of Lost! ...

That's what I was thinking! they're all probably stuck on season 1!!

lmao

You see, I find NOTHING funny about 228 dying from a plane crash.

I saw the report on yahoo when I got on today. Very sad, but sometimes things like this happen. I agree though; it's safer traveling by plane. Afterall, you don't have to deal with road rage in the skies. :P Hopefully they'll find the plane. Eventually. :/ They said it was a large area to cover in the article I read.

I read about this earlier this morning. It's very sad. I did however hear that it would probably be very unlikely that lightning brought the plane down because of equipment or whatnot on the 'skin' of the plane used to resist the effects of lightning. I guess now it's easier for planes to avoid large storms. In the article I read it said the plane might have tried to avoid the storm and had flown into a violent part of it instead. Either way it's tragic and upsetting.

I don't think I'm afraid to fly because of this incident. Well I mean, I hate flying in general and it makes me nervous even though I've flown plenty of times before. I just hate having to sit in a crappy cramped cabin seat. For some reason I always get weirdos that want to talk the whole flight when I just want to sleep and listen to my iPod! hah!

If only they knew what a whore you were, huh?!

This is absolutely awful :(

airplanes cause bad weather and block out sun rays that plants need, they're killing us all.

most people do not even need to be on a plane, it's a total waste, and a harmful one at that.

I do hope they find those on this crash, and I truly hope each one of them never fly again.

Yes. We should all just swim across the atlantic instead if we have some insane desire to travel and experience the world.

or take a boat

Lol. Do you realise how long it takes to cross the atlantic ocean in a boat? There aren't even many boats that do such crossings. And most people work most of the year and don't want to spend most of their entire 5 weeks annual leave on a boat!

Some of us also get sea sick. ;)

You get 5 weeks annual leave?

Yes. Well, 25 days. And public holidays. And I work for the national health service. Brits who work in the private sector often get even more.

ahh but there are,.... when we come over to be based with the UK's (oh damn what is it.... dont kill me if I get this wrong) RAF bases - we get to ship our cars, via car transports. But I assume you mean no people transports that are trans-atlantic which I would agree there most like are none

I meant passenger ferries. And even if they did exist they would take AGES to make the crossing.

Where does the media (and the public generally) get this idea that boats are somehow magically not polluting in any way?

Unless you are considering rowing across the Atlantic, the planet is that much better off by you travelling by boat.

sorry, that should say "the planet is not that much better off by you travelling by boat."

As usual, one typing error has changed the entire meaning of the sentence!

good point

and yes nothing is wrong with sail boats

remember when Tesla powered a US navy ship with wireless, free energy? of those were the days, eh

does super logica have some solutions? or is the screen name the same as big men that go by the name Tiny?

:-O You dare to question the might of Super Logica?!

MY POWERS KNOW NO LIMITS!

haha. Seriously though, climate change is too big for one [wo]man! Even Superman would struggle! We should all use sailing boats and canoes to go anywhere, like in the olden days. Or we should force airlines to contribute heavily to carbon neutral programmes. I have nothing against airlines if they acknowledge that they are a problem and do their best to minimise their impacts (obviously that is my personal opinion... and I'm pretty sure I stand alone in among my peers with that one!). We should have wind turbines and solar power for our electricity needs, and use wood fuel to keep warm in the winter. We should stop chopping down forests and develop brown field sites (formerly developed land) instead of digging up more of the countryside. And we should all start growing our own veg 1940s style.

That would be a nice start!

Seriously, another typing error! Clearly my powers do have limits today... I think the unusually warm weather we are having is frying my brain.

agreed, minis wood fuel. that doesnt sit well with not cutting down trees.

solar heaters, and solar water heaters work fine

I found the solar airplanes to be quite interesting, looks promising. but just not there yet, only small ones.

my original comment was 99% of people on planes, really dont even need to be on them, and should spend more time at home raising their children, or looking for someone to have some with, or spend quality time with and enjoy the real life. vs the hustle and bustle of chasing greed and destroying the planet as fast as possible.