Ask Captain Lim ~ All about Aviation

Dear Captain Lim,

Thank you so much for having this web site. I find it very useful. I am a student pilot. I do however have a question I hope you can answer. My instructor is always telling me of the risks with flying near thunderstorms. He claims that the turbulence in a thunderstorm can rip the wings off an aircraft. In your opinion, is this true?

Would a Boeing 777 be in danger of it wings being torn off during turbulence in a thunderstorm? The reason I ask is because you stated in your web site that the wings of an aircraft would not likely fall off due to turbulence.

I would highly respect your opinion on this matter.

Thank you

Dan Y

Hi Dan,

The structure of a Boeing is incredibly strong. At the planning and development stage of the plane, the wings were thoroughly tested to see if it could survive the strongest force that turbulence and bad handling could produce in flight. During the test, the engineers wanted to see if the B777 could take up to 150 percent of the strongest force that it could meet in flight before it broke up; it did beyond their expectation!

You can view this video at YouTube here to see how the wings were stressed at the test rig.

Yes, as I have mentioned in the earlier FAQ, a picture (er? I mean the video movie) is worth a thousand words!