Risk analysis of lightning effects in aircraft systems

The lightning effects in aircraft have been known since the early days of aviation, and still they are a subject of active research. Because the lightning issues in aircraft are of safety concern, governmental agencies require aircraft manufacturers to evaluate and mitigate the hazardous effects of lightning in aircraft and maintain high safety standards. In order to have commercial transportation aircraft be certified, aircraft manufacturers must prove they meet the strict governmental safety regulations. Thus conducting a risk analysis of lightning effects in aircraft is an essential task. Additionally, due to highly complex, dynamic and interrelated nature of the lightning strike effects on aircraft, it would be prudent to take a systems engineering approach to understand and address overall lightning effects in aircraft. In this paper, we intend to perform risk analysis of lightning hazardous effects in aircraft at a system level to assess and mitigate the lightning risks. We examine the interaction of lightning with aircraft in Sections 1 and 2. We then introduce the Standard Risk Model in Section 3, and apply the model to lightning risk event and impact identification in Section 4. We next develop drivers for each lightning risk event and impact, and present the baseline of risk prevention and impact contingency plan for lightning hazard mitigation. We conclude with a summary and suggestions for the future work of aircraft lightning protection.