A U.S.-bound plane took off from London last month with four damaged window panes, including two that were completely missing, according to U.K. air accident investigators.
No one was injured by the window malfunctions, which appear to have been caused by high-power lights used in a film shoot, the U.K.’s Air Accident Investigation Branch reported in a special bulletin published Nov. 4.
From the article
"The lights, which were intended to give the illusion of a sunrise, were placed about 20 to 30 feet from the aircraft, shining on first the right, then the left side of the craft for over nine hours in total.
A foam liner had melted away from at least one of the windows and several window panes appeared to have been warped by the thermal heat. "
I’m surprised by that, because I’m having a hard time picturing a setup that was all that much hotter than, say, sitting on the tarmac in Phoenix in the summer.
Especially from 20 feet away
Am I missing something or is the term “thermal heat” just stupid? Are they trying to sound? Or is there some other meaning of heat that I’m unaware of and that would make sense in this context and therefore the description is needed?
I’m genuinely confused…
Huh, to be honest, when i read this, it didn’t connect with me how the lights made window panes disappear. were the window panes missing before the flight? It doesn’t seem like the window panes fell on anyone or nearby property.
“One shattered window pane was later recovered from the runway during a routine inspection.”