We try to get them back here instead of landing them someplace else. The military also requires that no airplanes land or take off when lightning is within five miles of the base flight line, Fletcher said. In the end, it's up to the pilot to determine whether it's safe to land. If he lands, he parks the airplane. Lightning is particular dangerous, he said.
Special equipment is used at the air base that shows when conditions are prime for lightning.
But we know the conditions are there. A commercial airliner might fly in those conditions. We might get a 20-minute window and send an aircrew out there who gets to take off. There are old pilots and there are bold pilots. But there are very few old, bold pilots.