Produced by: Manoj Kumar
What looks like harmless fluff from the ground can hide a deadly cocktail of turbulence, lightning, and ice. Pilots call it one of the sky’s most deceptive and dangerous obstacles.
Inside dense clouds, visibility drops to zero. Pilots can’t see the ground, horizon, or other planes—forcing them to fly blind and trust their instruments entirely.
Thunderclouds aren’t just bumpy—they contain violent air currents that can jolt aircraft so hard it feels like freefall. One wrong entry, and the cabin turns into chaos.
Lightning doesn’t just flash—it fries. A strike mid-cloud can damage avionics and key navigation systems, throwing modern jets into serious electronic jeopardy.
Cold clouds carry supercooled droplets that freeze on contact. Ice on wings or engines can ruin lift, compromise control, and force emergency landings.
Some clouds cloak wind shear—sudden, invisible shifts in airspeed that can drop or toss an aircraft during takeoff or landing. It’s one of aviation’s most feared phenomena.
Pilots don’t steer clear of clouds by guesswork. Onboard radar scans for dangerous formations, allowing them to navigate around storms like threading a needle through the sky.
Flying blind through clouds isn’t just hard—it’s trained rigorously. Pilots spend countless hours learning to trust instruments when instinct screams otherwise.
Every flight through stormy clouds is a potential minefield—lightning, hail, and icing are more than discomforts; they’re existential threats to aircraft safety.