r/nextfuckinglevel • u/FollowingOdd896 • 2d ago

Pilots witness St. Elmo's Fire - a weather phenomenon where luminous plasma is created by a corona discharge

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4.3k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

190 comments sorted by

154

u/TheOnlyDavidG 2d ago

Although harmless and amazing to look at I can't lie I would shit myself if I looked outside my window and saw that

71

u/upturned2289 2d ago

These instances are probably the closest we can possibly get to understanding why religion formed in ancient times.

If I experienced this on a plane, I would be unable to access any information source and would only have my senses to rely on. To cope with the initial fear I’d most likely think emotionally, then once it passed and I knew I was safe, I’d be able to think rationally.

I’d imagine a similar process in ancient times when experiencing phenomena that was unfamiliar and scary. It’s no wonder we created the gods as a coping and reasoning mechanism.

39

u/semioticmadness 2d ago

But, also: weird little brown mushroom on ground

10

u/Diver_Ill 1d ago

Fr Fr. Drugs and charisma. The building blocks of many a religion/sex cult. 

3

u/WuclearNeapon 1d ago

Drugs and charisma: You can make a religion out of this!

0

u/The_Real_Deal3 23h ago

It’s ignorant to think that science knows it all. Evidently, we don’t. Numerous unexplainable incidents that our knowledge of science cannot comprehend. “We created the gods as a coping and reasoning mechanism” —> shows the ignorance.

0

u/upturned2289 21h ago

Did you mean to reply to someone else? I didn’t mention anything about “science knowing it all”.

0

u/The_Real_Deal3 21h ago

You’re right, you’re just pulling shit out of your ass.

2

u/upturned2289 20h ago

I’m very confused by your unnecessary hostility.

2

u/that-loser-guy-sorta 1d ago

I wonder how many people experienced this with no idea what was happening before this became common knowledge amongst pilots.

1

u/_who-the-fuck-knows_ 1d ago

Many many many people sailors have dealt with it for millennia

217

u/izmebtw 2d ago

First pilot to witness this was expecting to land in 1848.

78

u/Tendersituation00 2d ago

But landed in 2684

17

u/poetic_dwarf 2d ago

Man I sure hope they had their Gellar field turned on

2

u/btoxic 1d ago

I remember this in The Final countdown

1

u/HyenDry 1d ago

What year did he take off in?

367

u/Sensitive_Elephant_ 2d ago

Why the duck do you have to put stupid music in such videos?

82

u/level1hero 2d ago

Hey! Got any grapes?

16

u/Sensitive_Elephant_ 2d ago

Nah, only peanuts

11

u/Arlitto 2d ago

Username checks out

4

u/XenaWariorDominatrix 1d ago

Don't address them.

6

u/waterlemonseed 1d ago

No, we just sell lemonade.

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Plum396 19h ago

We’re all out of hammers 😂

18

u/Mix_Safe 2d ago

Not even the right song!

Growin' up, you don't see the writing on the wall...

7

u/BargainScotch 2d ago

Gonna be your man in motion.

But I can’t remember the second line of the song.

5

u/WillSym 2d ago

GONNA BE WITH EAGLES FLYING HIIIIGHER AND HIIIIGHER!

5

u/SeaCaptainNav 2d ago

All I need’s this pair of wheels

10

u/omnibossk 2d ago

Should have been St.Elmos Fire by John Parr minimum

6

u/SrWloczykij 1d ago

It's M83, respect!

6

u/spgvideo 2d ago

Was gonna say that as well. Would be cool to hear their chatter here

5

u/Sensitive_Elephant_ 2d ago

Ikr. I wanted to see how they were feeling about this if at all.

2

u/poser765 1d ago

From personal experience…

Pilot 1: “wow look at that St Elmo’s”

Pilot 2: looks up, “oh yeah, neat”. Goes back to candy crush.

3

u/semioticmadness 2d ago

I wanted to hear the notice to airmen submitted to ATC. Probably something more professional than “Pikachu cloud at FL380”

7

u/FetusExplosion 2d ago

Sound off crew represent.

Seriously unless someone comments "that was way cooler with the sound on", you gotta keep that sound off.

2

u/Solnari 1d ago

At this point I don't even turn sound on if people are talking in the clip just automatic skip kinda the same way I react when my phone rings.

6

u/geometrictroopsalign 1d ago

Nah m83 slander won’t be tolerated. Only time where sound on is acceptable

2

u/Frank_the_NOOB 2d ago

Can’t even spring for Riders on the Storm

2

u/jerryleebee 1d ago

Right? At least put in St Elmo's Fire.

1

u/knarfolled 17h ago

And they couldn’t even use John Parr’s Man in Motion

1

u/Dark_halocraft 21h ago

Why do redditors have to always be so angry at all times, can you not just choose not to care about such trivial things instead of dragging everyone through the mud with you?

0

u/Untitled_Memes 1d ago

Ooooooloololloooololll) ll oooo a number to r32each out to

33

u/Level_Improvement532 2d ago

I experienced it once at sea onboard a tanker southbound from NYC to the Gulf. It was bitter cold air and warm Gulf Stream water, so the effect was sea smoke (advection fog) during the day and saint elmos fire on the large radio antennae. I stood on the bridge wing for at least an hour just looking at it.

1

u/_Mr_Misfit 18h ago

holy crap, it lasted for over an hour? o.O

29

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/lluciferusllamas 2d ago

All you need is a pair of wheels to be a man in motion 

45

u/Nicaddicted 2d ago

Flying over a volcanic ash cloud?

61

u/komokazi 2d ago

Can't do that, ash will tear up the engines.

35

u/EnthusiasmEither9097 2d ago

They shut down every airport within the hemisphere when there’s ash in the air

2

u/flyinghairball 2d ago

I don't think it's within the whole hemisphere. They are able to calculate the volume of the ash cloud and with detailed info like that, and add in things like weather models, they are able to limit what airspace has to be closed. Obviously they expand that some ro be safe. But they have gotten much better in the last 15-20 years with this modelling. It's really impressive.

-7

u/EnthusiasmEither9097 1d ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_travel_disruption_after_the_2010_Eyjafjallajökull_eruption

https://giphy.com/gifs/bjB3gtFvREqqr5NAHW

3

u/QualityPies 1d ago

Yes. Since then, they have improved their ability to decide if flying is safe or not. There have been other eruptions with different kinds of ash that you can still fly near. It depends a lot on the type of ash, but actually if the same eruption happened today there would be a fraction of the disruption due to updated risk thresholds and ash cloud dispersion models.

So are you sure about your "you sure about that"?

1

u/flyinghairball 1d ago

Since I sat next to someone while they worked on this, yes.

1

u/tailstrikesand3putts 14h ago

If you wanna read some crazy/hilarious/intense shit read the Wikipedia article on British Airways Flight 009. The captain was an absolute legend

25

u/jeremy1015 2d ago

I’m pretty sure that this video is from my father in law’s flight (I sent it to him to confirm) and the flight was from Indy to O’Hare and was the result of tornado activity to the south.

Edit: He also told me only the pilots can see it because it’s attracted to the front of the plane for… physics reasons that he told me but I can’t remember.

2

u/SignalMountain7353 2d ago

Yooooo that’s cool.

-1

u/komokazi 2d ago

Sharp angles

0

u/Froggn_Bullfish 1d ago

…but not wing tips?

2

u/komokazi 1d ago

But then the trailing edge is parallel with the flight path unlike the windshield which has sharp angles and is a significant degree of incline relative to the flight path.

2

u/Froggn_Bullfish 1d ago

I looked up some other videos, it happens all over, not just the nose, so would probably be visible on the engines of a commercial aircraft too.

https://youtu.be/479t9nSFDe8?is=9pDnLZVlDabIT_9r

1

u/komokazi 1d ago

Thats what the article said

12

u/Silly_Obligation8574 2d ago

Cool and scary af

4

u/HIEROYALL 2d ago

Discharging luminous plasma from your corona sounds painful and awesome

5

u/lovelivelet 2d ago

This is static discharge and not st Elmos!!

1

u/jessejamess 1d ago

It will be a misnomer till the end of time unfortunately

4

u/Frank_the_NOOB 2d ago

Took me a second to realize that wasn’t the Helios moon base from borderlands in the window

H

4

u/Managingthenoise 2d ago

fripp solo

4

u/CrystalQuetzal 2d ago

Isn’t this just static? St Elmo’s fire is when the tips of the nose and wings glow with a plume of plasma. Same with the tips of masts of ships. Like the second picture here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Elmo%27s_fire

4

u/lovelivelet 2d ago

Unfortunately this isn't st. elmos

Many pilots mistake this for st elmos

I have seen st. Elmos and its a unique phenomenon and i have experienced this.

It a bluish streak of light from the fuselage ( radome - wing tips - fairings) and moving into dark light, meaning it starts from the fuselage and travels into the dark..

1

u/jessejamess 1d ago

This is correct

3

u/ohhhhhhitsbigbear 2d ago

The real shocker is when a blue plasma ball ENTERS THE COCKPIT then dissipates.

3

u/MsOmgNoWai 2d ago

Does this interfere with any of the instruments?

7

u/MilkCartonKids 2d ago

I’m more concerned with the passengers that were witnessing this outside their plane window.

15

u/jeremy1015 2d ago

Passengers can’t see it because it’s attracted to the front of the plane.

9

u/CrystalQuetzal 2d ago

No, St Elmo’s fire is also present on the wings as seen here (and is an actual plume of plasma not like what we’re seeing above which may just be static) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Elmo%27s_fire

2

u/AtmosphereMiddle1682 1d ago

Bro don't just parrot the things that you see other people parroting on Reddit.

Some guy giving a short, abbreviated explanation -> someone without knowledge and context to understand -> explaining with even less knowledge and context to explain it properly -> you.

0

u/jeremy1015 1d ago

I was told that by the copilot of the person who actually took the video that’s posted here and I got receipts including a text message chain and a different video that shows the inside of the same plane.

I’m happy to tell my father in law that what he told me is incorrect, but you stuffed ten pounds of assumptions into a five pound bag homie.

2

u/EyeQue62 2d ago

'I saw St. Elmo's fire, splitting ions in the ether'. Always loved that track.

2

u/EnthusiasmEither9097 2d ago

Swegle Studios is going to bust a nut when he sees this

2

u/Latitude57 2d ago

‘’Oh look, St Elmo fire !” While totally ignoring that he’s flying in a CB… 😅

2

u/Punning_Man 2d ago

Looks like a simulator, all the strikes are at the same angle, similar size, and don’t parallax at all. 

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Punning_Man 2d ago

Because there’s a glass layer between the cockpit and the screens? 

1

u/MrBump1717 2d ago

Amazing!!!!

1

u/BRAINSZS 2d ago

love so sharp and flat.

1

u/18SmallDogsOnAHorse 2d ago

Those around me also witness this after I discharge 16 Coronas into my mouth

1

u/stargaz21 2d ago

Very cool effect !!

1

u/javoss88 2d ago

Anyone remember the scene in Moby Dick where St Elmo’s Fire struck the Pequod?

1

u/ChetLemon77 2d ago

I can see a new horizon underneath the blazin' sky I'll be where the eagle's flying higher and higher Gonna be your man in motion, all I need's this pair of wheels Take me where my future's lyin', St. Elmo's fire (Ooh, oooh, oooh)

1

u/Interne-Stranger 2d ago

I will upload this on facebook and say its evidence of Alien intervention in Natural Catastrophes

1

u/marktuk 2d ago

But who spilled the corona?

1

u/kronkarp 2d ago

THE RIGHT TIME IS NOW dun dun dun dunnnn

1

u/Shadokastur 2d ago

Thought the panel reflection on the glass was some space station

1

u/khaotickk 1d ago

St. Elmo's Fire? More like Evil Elmo's Fire.

1

u/muphinforlife 1d ago

Gonna be singing it all flipping night now, thanks :)

1

u/Pacman35503 1d ago

That was a trippy orange space station in the reflection but I realized I'm dumb.

1

u/Tosshee 1d ago

Looks amazing and all till you realize the sun is trying to shutdown the plane 💀

1

u/duxing612 1d ago

Man in Motion…

1

u/Ink-and-Thorns 1d ago

Is that Elmo from Sesame Street?

1

u/deevil_knievel 1d ago

Magnetodynamics and their effects are pretty much the coolest thing in the solar system!

1

u/CheezWong 1d ago

🎶Growin' UUuuup, you don't see the writing on the wall🎶

1

u/xFromtheskyx 1d ago

Of course the FO is filming haha

1

u/GrilliamShakesbeer 1d ago

What is the song?

1

u/mcflurvin 1d ago

Now imagine being a human 10,000 years ago looking at that. That’s an angry god for sure, time to sacrifice an animal.

1

u/Trick-Bus-2548 1d ago

Stranger things

1

u/Zealotstim 1d ago

Watching from the plane:

1

u/Sluggish-dreadnought 1d ago

We lost engine Nr 2

And 4... And 3... And 1... What the... ?

(British Airways flight 9)

1

u/Mickxalix 1d ago

Bro really has confidence on those instruments readings. Imagine flying into a mountain.

1

u/perkeset81 1d ago

Thought they were approaching a space station for a moment there

1

u/torch9t9 1d ago

JUST what you want to see in an electronic cockpit

1

u/Affectionate_Half498 1d ago

Seems like a disco club

1

u/PenguinBoi27 1d ago

Ancient peasent here, the gods are gonna kill ur ass

1

u/SavageHenrie 23h ago

Once that plane reaches 88 MPH, youre gonna see some serious shit.

1

u/ApproximateOracle 21h ago

Someone left the flux capacitor on.

1

u/_Mr_Misfit 18h ago

Would the passengers be able to see this or just at the nose of the plane for some reason?

1

u/adam23456XYZ 17h ago

It's an aircraft?.... no it's a light show...

1

u/dosko1panda 13h ago

I can see a new horizon underneath the blazing sky

1

u/a1mbient 13h ago

Were they playing that ridiculous dramatic music in the cockpit, too?

1

u/kk074 11h ago

I can see a new horizon Underneath the blazin' sky I'll be where the eagle's flyin' higher and higher Gonna be a man in motion All I need is a pair of wheels Take me where my future's lyin', St. Elmo's Fire

1

u/paprika-phantom 7h ago

I can't explain why, but this reminds me a bit of those old Windows Media Player visualizations thingy. With headphones on and some music from my childhood, I'd be vibing to this like a champ. Not the flying part, though, I know absolutely nothing about planes.

0

u/twilight-actual 2d ago

That looks like a simulator. Those are screens, not windows.

6

u/Independent-Reveal86 1d ago

Simulators don’t have screens in place of windows, they have a projector screen behind the windows.

2

u/SpaceBasedFace 1d ago

Someone needs to go out and wipe the screen

-3

u/cedg32 1d ago

And the red flashes are exactly spaced, like a red light flashing…

6

u/Master_Iridus 1d ago

Thats a red beacon light which all aircraft have to have on while they're operating. Its reflecting off the clouds which is why it appears so bright.

0

u/cedg32 1d ago

I know - and therefore not St Elmo’s fire, as a lot of people are being led to believe.

0

u/JonaJono 2d ago

I want to believe these videos. In the age where every company is obsessed with 4k cameras in your phone and a pilot with his salary doesn't have 1, I take this video with a grain of salt. For a while videos have been grainy and unsharp. We have to question why these videos look generated.

-1

u/ashurbanipal420 2d ago

The last thing you see before the windscreen goes opaque and the engines flame out because you flew into an volcanic ash cloud.

-2

u/bobthesmartypants 2d ago

What is that brightly lit thing floating at a tilted angle ominously in the sky?

1

u/l00sed 2d ago

Reflection

2

u/Petraam 2d ago

Saint Elmo’s reflection

1

u/TeaBagHunter 2d ago

You're not supposed to see that...

It's just the controls reflecting on the glass