Can a small jet really out-fly an ash cloud?
There’s one memorable sequence in the film 2012 where a plane attempts to flee an erupting volcano in Yellowstone National Park. A huge ash cloud descends upon the aircraft, but just at the last moment, the plane manages to break free and skirt away. Aviation experts will probably shake their heads at the event and for good reason: ash is made up of Tephra – which consists of ultra-fine glass and pulverised rock pieces less than 2mm in diameter and because of this, it’s particularly hazardous to engines and fuel supplies . Any attempt by an aircraft to fly through such conditions would normally result in total engine failure, as was witnessed by a British Airways 747 in 1982 when an eruption of Galunggung Volcano in West Java caused a plume of ash to engulf the engines of that plane, just before the crew managed to restart engines after an extremely rapid descent. The plane would also have to be flying extremely fast. Initial blasts from volcanic eruptions can throw rocks as fast 200,0
