[Ronbye]

I just finished watching a program about a SuperPuma helicopter which was ferrying workers to a offshore oil rig in the North Sea. They never made it as they were struck by lightening and the tail rotor let go which resulted in a ditching in Force 10 weather. All 16 passengers and 2 pilots were successfully rescued and nobody was hurt. The investigators from the Civil Aviation Authority in Britain had determined that the tail rotor blades that were originally made from fiberglass were now being made from carbon fiber. They quite unexpectantly discovered that carbon fiber is a greater conductor of electricity than fiberglass by as much as 1000 times. In this case, the rotors while operating in a storm cloud generated enough static electricity to cause a lightening strike which was concentrated at the tail rotor and it exploded causing the crash.

With the ever increasing use of carbon fiber for masts, I think a warning should go out to those owners of boats with carbon fiber masts to ensure that their rigs are protected against lightening. Particularly for those folks who live in areas that are prone to lightening.

I would also like to see some discussion on this from the experts in carbon fiber construction and lightening science. Somebody's life may very depend on the knowledge glean from this. It was definetly an eye opener for me.