This shot shows a lightning bolt striking an airplane taking off at Osaka's airport, then hitting the ground. Lightning is not dangerous for airliners, as the electricity flows around their aluminum skin, but looking at the stunning video loop after the jump and knowing that tomorrow we have to fly to Berlin for IFA, they sure scare the hell out of me.


Apparently, no plane has crashed in the US because of lightning bolts in 40 years, even while every airliner in the country could get hit at least once, according to the statistics. Now, can anyone explain to this ignorant (me) person how 100 trillion (million million) watts can hit a plane and nothing happens to the electronics inside, while my cell can wreak havoc emitting just a few microwaves? [Coast to Coast]