Volcanic Ash is Abrasive : Can Turn-off an Aircraft Engines

Volcanic ash is highly abrasive and a cloud of them potential to overwhelm the engines of an aircraft in flight by blocking its turbines, told Efe an expert of the Spanish commercial aviation said the danger that is triggered by the eruption of a volcano in Iceland .

The president of the Association of Commercial Aviation Pilots Spanish, Luis Lacasa, noted that to this risk, the decision to close the major airports air traffic from northern Europe is the “most sensible.”
Lacasa said the effect of ash on the devices is like crossing a “sandblasting” and 800 kilometers per hour can make all the aircraft are frosted glass.

Moreover, according to driver, the ash can “get into the turbines and deform,” coming to “turn off the engines.”

The eruption of one of the existing craters near Keflavik, Iceland town west of the glacier Eyjafjall, resulted in a cloud of ash that forced several northern European countries to close their airspace.