Solar Storms Threaten Flight Safety | Leicester News

Solar storms are posing serious risks to aviation, with radiation at cruising altitudes skyrocketing to levels that can fry aircraft electronics. A 2025 storm spiked radiation nearly tenfold, while the 1956 superstorm could’ve exposed passengers to a year’s worth of flight radiation. Last October, a JetBlue flight made an emergency landing after a sudden altitude drop, injuring 15 — and Airbus grounded thousands of A320s due to vulnerable flight control systems. The real danger? “Single Event Upsets” — tiny glitches that pile up and disrupt critical systems, potentially escalating from a few per hour to thousands. Scientists are now pushing for new radiation measurement tools tailored to aviation, so airlines can reroute or ground flights during extreme space weather — because right now, there’s no clear safety protocol.

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