HELSINKI - Finnish fighter jets which flew through the volcanic dust covering much of Europe suffered damage and the air force warned Friday the cloud could have a significant impact on planes.
The air force F-18 Hornet jets were on training flights in northern Finland on Thursday morning, when airspace was still open, and the engines were later found to contain fine, volcanic ash dust.
"Based on the pictures, it was discovered that even short flights in ash dust may cause significant damage to an airplane's engine," the Finnish Defence Forces said in a statement.
Images taken inside one Hornet engine with a fibroscope camera indicated that the heat of the engine - around 1,000 degrees Celcius - had melted the ash inside the engine, blocking ventilation channels. "Blockages of ventilation channels caused by melting ash lead engine components to overheat and material to weaken," it said, adding this could fracture rotating engine parts.
In the worst case, the weakening of component materials could cause "parts to detach and the engine to be destroyed," it said.
The Hornets exposed to the dust from the eruption of a volcano in Iceland would be checked thoroughly, with "at least some" of the engines detached and sent for further studies and repair.
A growing question is "Are we over reacting - this suggests not. What would you do? Would you fly?
HT Ton Z
