Recent content by Jim Hanlon

Faced with the awesome destructive aftermath of a lightning strike up close, it is tempting to be fatalistic regarding the process, and outcome, of it all. But, with a bit of Ben Franklin-level electrical theory, and years of experience in, e.g., cell tower protection, ordinary folks can and do...

That's the fact. The most charitable explanation is some kind of power failure that forced the plane down earlier than planned. Worst case is a careless pilot starting a descent 5 miles too soon. Hope it's not the latter.