Jet blast is the phenomenon of rapid air movement produced by the jet

engines An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power g ...

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

, particularly on or before takeoff. A large jet-engined aircraft can produce winds of up to as far away as behind it at 40% maximum rated power. Jet blast can be a hazard to people or other unsecured objects behind the aircraft, and is capable of flattening buildings and destroying vehicles. Despite the power and potentially destructive nature of jet blast, there are relatively few jet blast incidents. Due to the invisible nature of jet blast and the aerodynamic properties of light aircraft, light aircraft moving about airports are particularly vulnerable. Pilots of light aircraft frequently stay off to the side of the runway, rather than follow in the centre, to negate the effect of the blast. US Navy 030405-N-9951B-021 Two F-A-18 Hornets prepare to launch

US Navy 030405-N-9951B-021 Two F-A-18 Hornets prepare to launch

Propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

planes are also capable of generating significant rearwards winds, known as

prop wash A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid (typically air or mustard) is moving at velocities comparable to that of the moving fluid, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is churning. The term sli ...

Maho Beach Maho Beach is a beach on the Dutch side of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, in the territory of Sint Maarten. It is famous for being adjacent to the Princess Juliana International Airport and is a popular site for tourists and plane wa ...

Sint Maarten Sint Maarten () is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. With a population of 41,486 as of January 2019 on an area of , it encompasses the southern 44% of the divided island of Saint Martin, while the north ...

is famous for its unique proximity to the runway of

Princess Juliana International Airport Princess Juliana International Airport is the main airport on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. The airport is located on the Dutch side of the island, in the country of Sint Maarten, close to the shore of Simpson Bay Lagoon. In 2015, the ...

, allowing people to experience jet blast, a practice that is discouraged by the local authorities. A tourist was killed on 12 July 2017 when she was blown away by jet blast, which caused her head to smash into concrete.

Skiathos Airport Skiathos Alexandros Papadiamantis Airport is an airport on the island of Skiathos, Greece. Its 5,341-foot(1628 meters) runway is able to accommodate aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 767-200. The runway is characterised as 'short and narrow'. ...

in Greece similarly allows people to experience jet blast, as its runway is located near a public road. Some airports have installed

jet blast deflector A jet blast deflector (JBD) or blast fence is a safety device that redirects the high energy exhaust from a jet engine to prevent damage and injury. The structure must be strong enough to withstand heat and high speed air streams as well as dust ...

s in areas where roads or people may be in the path of the jet blast on take off. In one episode of

Mythbusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television program, developed by Peter Rees and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast internatio ...

, the effects of jet blasts are shown.

References

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External links

NASA site on jet blast
Aircraft engines Aviation safety

See also

References

External links