Not sure you were hit by lightning? EasyJet finds a way -Video

EasyJet's Using Drones to Check Planes for Lightning Damage

ONE HAZARD THAT comes with traipsing through the skies is that occasionally, you get hit by lightning. For commercial jets, it happens about once a year, and it's not a big deal. The planes are built to withstand substantial strikes. Only a few dozen accidents tracked by the NTSB between 1962 and 2010 involved lightning strikes to aircraft. Pilots aren't even always aware they've been hit.

But that doesn't mean there's never any damage. Lightning can mess with bits like fuel valves, power feeders, and electrical distribution systems. 

 

The easiest way to spot lightning damage is to look for signs on the exterior: burn marks and small holes, and even missing bits at the plane's extremities, like the wing tips, according to Boeing. And that means pulling the plane from service for a manual inspection, which takes a full day.

To reduce that downtime-and thus increase the amount of money a plane can generate-European discount carrier easyJet is testing a new way of inspecting its jets: with an automated drone.

Developed by UK-based firms Blue Bear Systems Research and Createc, the Remote Intelligent Survey Equipment for Radiation (RISER) drone was originally designed to measure radiation and map rooms in hazardous environments. The two-foot wide quad-copter drone features electro-optical, light detection and ranging sensors. It has the ability to hover and maneuver in industrial buildings, autonomously avoiding obstacles. It even knows to get out of the way if something might interfere with its work.

For easyJet, it will fly around a plane from approximately three feet away (using lasers to determine its distance) and locate damage caused by lightning strikes. "The use of these emerging technologies frees up our engineering and digital teams to enable them to undertake more skilled tasks," says Ian Davies, easyJet's head of engineering.