{"id":29389906,"date":"2026-10-24T17:54:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T15:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/st-elmos-fire-aircraft-explained-corona-discharge-static-wicks\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T17:54:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T15:54:31","slug":"st-elmos-fire-aircraft-explained-corona-discharge-static-wicks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/st-elmos-fire-aircraft-explained-corona-discharge-static-wicks\/","title":{"rendered":"St Elmo&#8217;s Fire on Aircraft: The Blue Glow Pilots See in Storms"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\r\n\r\n<style>\r\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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Violet and blue tendrils branch across the glass like living lightning, crawling and flickering, while the instruments glow calmly below. Nothing has hit the aircraft. Nothing is on fire.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The crew is watching St Elmo's fire, one of the oldest weather phenomena in recorded history and one of the most beautiful things a pilot can see. Sailors knew it for centuries as a glow dancing on the tops of their masts. Today it most often appears on the windscreens, wingtips and propellers of aircraft flying near thunderstorms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Here is what St Elmo&rsquo;s fire actually is, when pilots see it, why it is harmless but worth respecting, and why every airliner carries a row of small spikes on its wings to keep the electricity behind it under control.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 26px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>What it is:<\/strong> A corona discharge: luminous plasma formed when a strong electric field ionises the air around an object<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Colour:<\/strong> Usually blue or violet, sometimes greenish; may hiss or buzz<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Named after:<\/strong> St Erasmus of Formia (St Elmo), a patron saint of sailors<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Where on aircraft:<\/strong> Windscreens, wingtips, tail surfaces, antennas, propeller tips<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>When:<\/strong> Near thunderstorms, in charged cloud, snow, ice crystals or volcanic ash<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Dangerous?:<\/strong> Not in itself, but a sign of thunderstorm activity and a possible precursor to lightning<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Static wicks:<\/strong> Bleed off charge to cut radio noise by about 50 dB (FAA)<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Famous accounts:<\/strong> Nagasaki mission, 1945; British Airways Flight 9, 1982<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A glow made of electrified air<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>St Elmo&rsquo;s fire is a corona discharge: a luminous plasma created when a strong electric field ionises the air around an object. The field is most concentrated around sharp points and edges, so the discharge appears there first, as a blue or violet glow, often with a hissing or buzzing sound. The colour comes from the nitrogen and oxygen in the air, glowing by the same mechanism that lights a neon tube.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>It is not lightning. Lightning is a single, violent leap of current across a long gap. St Elmo&rsquo;s fire is a steady leak of charge into the air immediately around the object, which is why it can flicker for minutes without harming anything.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/st-elmos-fire-ship-masts-engraving-1886.jpg\" alt=\"Nineteenth-century engraving of a sailing ship in a storm with small flames of St Elmo&amp;rsquo;s fire glowing at the tops of its masts\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Long before aircraft, sailors saw St Elmo&rsquo;s fire glowing on their mastheads. Engraving from <em>The Aerial World<\/em> by Dr G. Hartwig, London, 1886. Public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The name comes from St Erasmus of Formia, also known as St Elmo, a patron saint of sailors, who often took the glow on the rigging as a sign of his protection. The phenomenon appears in ancient Greek and Roman writing and in the journal Antonio Pigafetta kept on Magellan&rsquo;s circumnavigation. Mariners had good reason to watch for it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;The glow on a masthead produced by an extreme buildup of electrical charge is known as St. Elmo&rsquo;s Fire. Unprotected mariners should immediately move to shelter when this phenomena occurs. Lightning may strike the mast within five minutes after it begins to glow.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>National Weather Service<\/strong> &mdash; Lightning safety factsheet for mariners<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why aircraft light up<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>An aircraft builds up its own electrical charge in flight. The FAA&rsquo;s <em>Aeronautical Information Manual<\/em> explains that as an aircraft flies through rain, snow, sleet, hail, dust or volcanic ash, the impacts leave a negative charge on its skin, and within a very short time that charge becomes substantial. Fly into the strong electric fields around a thunderstorm and the effect multiplies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>When the voltage gets high enough, the aircraft goes into what the FAA calls corona, discharging from its extremities: wingtips, tail surfaces, antennas and propeller tips. The windscreen, with its frame and tiny imperfections, is another favourite spot. To the crew, the result is St Elmo&rsquo;s fire, usually seen in or near thunderstorm clouds, in snow and ice crystals, and in volcanic ash.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/st-elmos-fire-airbus-a320-windshield.jpg\" alt=\"Small violet jets of St Elmo&amp;rsquo;s fire flickering along the edge of an Airbus A320 cockpit windshield at night\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">St Elmo&rsquo;s fire emanating from imperfections along the edge of an Airbus A320 windshield, 2025. Photo: Antelopesensign \/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>SKYbrary, the aviation safety knowledge base, describes it as brushlike fiery jets extending from an aerial, wing, propeller or windscreen, usually bluish or violet but sometimes with a greenish tinge. It can even be heard &ldquo;singing&rdquo; on the radio, as a frying or hissing sound.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_vMw6I-m3vw\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">Captain Joe explains whether St Elmo&rsquo;s fire is dangerous for aircraft, and what pilots do when they see it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Harmless, but a warning<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>St Elmo&rsquo;s fire is not a hazard in itself. The light cannot burn the aircraft, and crews fly through it routinely. But it is a reliable sign that the air around the aircraft is heavily charged, which means thunderstorm activity, and SKYbrary notes it may be a precursor to a lightning strike.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/united-kingdom-royal-air-force\/\">Royal Air Force<\/a> made the same point in October 2020, when a crew of No. 99 Squadron filmed it from the cockpit of a <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/c-17-globemaster-iii\/\">C-17 Globemaster III<\/a> at night over the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone near the equator.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1313142749735063553&theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:560px;border:none;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>In August 2023, as Hurricane Idalia approached Florida, the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/united-states-air-force\/\">US Air Force<\/a> evacuated its aircraft from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. A crew from the 50th Air Refueling Squadron, a KC-135 unit, recorded an especially vivid display on the way out, somewhere over Virginia according to one of the airmen on board.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1696623235943530855&theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:560px;border:none;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never seen it that prominent before.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Staff Sgt. Dalton Degeneffe<\/strong> &mdash; 50th Air Refueling Squadron, US Air Force, speaking to Fox Weather (via Air Force Times), 2023<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The little spikes on every airliner<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Look at the trailing edge of an airliner&rsquo;s wing next time you board and you will see a row of thin rods or spikes pointing backwards. These are static dischargers, or static wicks, and they exist because of the same charge that creates St Elmo&rsquo;s fire.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Left alone, that charge escapes in bursts from the aircraft&rsquo;s extremities and creates precipitation static, or P-static: radio noise that pilots hear in their headsets. The FAA lists the symptoms reported by crews, from complete loss of VHF radio and erroneous magnetic compass readings to a high-pitched squeal on the audio, loss of avionics in cloud and, on the list too, St Elmo&rsquo;s fire on the windshield.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/static-dischargers-airbus-a319-winglet.jpg\" alt=\"The wingtip fence of an Airbus A319 with several thin static discharger rods pointing backwards from the trailing edges\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The thin rods pointing backwards from this Germanwings Airbus A319&rsquo;s wingtip and trailing edge are static dischargers, which bleed off the charge that causes radio noise and St Elmo&rsquo;s fire. Photo: Till Niermann \/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Static dischargers give the charge an easy way out. Using fine metal points, carbon-coated rods or carbon wicks, they let it bleed away gradually instead of building up and discharging off the trailing edges in a way that interferes with the avionics. According to the FAA, this cuts static noise by about 50 decibels, enough in most cases to keep it below the threshold of interference. It only works on a properly bonded airframe, with a conductive path from every part of the aircraft to the dischargers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;This discharge of static electricity is what you will hear in your headphones and is what we call P-static.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Federal Aviation Administration<\/strong> &mdash; <em>Aeronautical Information Manual<\/em>, chapter 7, on precipitation static<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ulK8TjUnGf8\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">Mentour Pilot on the dangers of static electricity and how aircraft are built to handle it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Famous sightings<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>One of the most vivid accounts came from the night of 9 August 1945. New York Times science reporter William L. Laurence was flying aboard <em>The Great Artiste<\/em>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/b-29-superfortress\/\">B-29<\/a> instrument aircraft on the Nagasaki mission, when the aircraft flew through a storm. Its propellers, he wrote, had become &ldquo;great luminous discs of blue flame&rdquo;.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;The same luminous blue flame appeared on the plexiglass windows in the nose of the ship, and on the tips of the giant wings it looked as though we were riding the whirlwind through space on a chariot of blue fire.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>William L. Laurence<\/strong> &mdash; <em>The New York Times<\/em>, eyewitness account of the Nagasaki mission, 1945 (via the Atomic Heritage Foundation)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Laurence feared the electricity might threaten the bomb aboard the aircraft ahead. The pilot, Captain Frederick Bock, was unbothered. &ldquo;It is a familiar phenomenon seen often on ships. I have seen it many times on bombing missions. It is known as St. Elmo&rsquo;s Fire,&rdquo; he told the reporter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/kc-135-pilots-st-elmos-fire-cockpit-2023.jpg\" alt=\"Two KC-135 Stratotanker pilots in a dark cockpit with a band of St Elmo&amp;rsquo;s fire glowing across the windscreen\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">KC-135 pilots of the 91st Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron fly through stormy weather in the US Central Command area with St Elmo&rsquo;s fire on the windscreen, 6 January 2023. US Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Diana M. Cossaboom \/ public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Almost four decades later, on the night of 24 June 1982, the crew of <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/british-airways-flight-9-volcanic-ash-747-glide-1982\/\">British Airways Flight 9<\/a> noticed an effect resembling St Elmo&rsquo;s fire on the windscreen of their Boeing 747 over the Indian Ocean south of Java. It was the first sign that they had flown into the ash cloud of Mount Galunggung. Within minutes, all four engines had stopped. The glow they saw is now attributed to ash particles striking the leading edges of the aircraft, rather than to a true electrical corona.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cNYZW3kfDNQ\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">AccuWeather&rsquo;s WeatherWhys explains what St Elmo&rsquo;s fire is and how it forms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>For the sailors who first named it, St Elmo&rsquo;s fire was an omen. For pilots today it is physics they can see: proof that their aircraft is soaking up charge from a storm, and that the static wicks behind them are earning their keep. Enjoy the light show. Then keep an eye on the weather radar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: FAA Aeronautical Information Manual (ch. 7, Precipitation Static), National Weather Service lightning safety factsheet, SKYbrary (St Elmo&rsquo;s Fire), Atomic Heritage Foundation (William L. Laurence, Nagasaki eyewitness account), Air Force Times, Guinness World Records, Wikipedia (St. Elmo&rsquo;s fire; Static discharger; British Airways Flight 9; The Great Artiste; No. 99 Squadron RAF; MacDill Air Force Base)<\/em><\/p>\r\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\r\n\r\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What is St Elmo&rsquo;s fire on an aircraft?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">St Elmo&rsquo;s fire is a corona discharge, a glowing plasma that forms when a strong electric field ionises the air around an object. On aircraft it appears as blue or violet light, often in branching jets, on the windscreen, wingtips, tail, antennas or propeller tips, usually when flying near thunderstorms or through charged cloud, snow or ash.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Is St Elmo&rsquo;s fire dangerous for aircraft?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">St Elmo&rsquo;s fire is not dangerous in itself and does not burn or damage the aircraft. However, it shows that the surrounding air is heavily charged, which indicates thunderstorm activity, and SKYbrary notes it may be a precursor to a lightning strike. Pilots treat it as a warning to watch the weather closely.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why is it called St Elmo&rsquo;s fire?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">St Elmo&rsquo;s fire is named after St Erasmus of Formia, also known as St Elmo, a patron saint of sailors. For centuries mariners saw the blue glow on the tops of their masts during storms and often took it as a sign of the saint&rsquo;s protection. The name carried over to aviation when pilots saw the same glow on aircraft.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What causes St Elmo&rsquo;s fire on a cockpit windscreen?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">An aircraft builds up a negative electrical charge as it flies through rain, snow, ice, dust or volcanic ash, and the charge grows in the strong electric fields near thunderstorms. When the voltage is high enough, the charge discharges into the air from edges and points, including the windscreen frame and its tiny imperfections, creating the glow.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What are static wicks on aircraft wings?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Static wicks, or static dischargers, are thin rods or spikes on the trailing edges of wings and tail surfaces. They let electrical charge built up in flight bleed away gradually through fine points, carbon-coated rods or carbon wicks. According to the FAA, this reduces precipitation static radio noise by about 50 decibels, protecting communications and navigation.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Did British Airways Flight 9 see St Elmo&rsquo;s fire?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes, in appearance. On 24 June 1982 the crew of British Airways Flight 9 noticed an effect resembling St Elmo&rsquo;s fire on the windscreen of their Boeing 747 south of Java, the first sign of the ash cloud from Mount Galunggung. All four engines then stopped. The glow is now attributed to ash particles striking the aircraft.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is St Elmo\u2019s fire on an aircraft?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"St Elmo\u2019s fire is a corona discharge, a glowing plasma that forms when a strong electric field ionises the air around an object. On aircraft it appears as blue or violet light, often in branching jets, on the windscreen, wingtips, tail, antennas or propeller tips, usually when flying near thunderstorms or through charged cloud, snow or ash.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Is St Elmo\u2019s fire dangerous for aircraft?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"St Elmo\u2019s fire is not dangerous in itself and does not burn or damage the aircraft. However, it shows that the surrounding air is heavily charged, which indicates thunderstorm activity, and SKYbrary notes it may be a precursor to a lightning strike. Pilots treat it as a warning to watch the weather closely.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why is it called St Elmo\u2019s fire?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"St Elmo\u2019s fire is named after St Erasmus of Formia, also known as St Elmo, a patron saint of sailors. For centuries mariners saw the blue glow on the tops of their masts during storms and often took it as a sign of the saint\u2019s protection. The name carried over to aviation when pilots saw the same glow on aircraft.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What causes St Elmo\u2019s fire on a cockpit windscreen?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"An aircraft builds up a negative electrical charge as it flies through rain, snow, ice, dust or volcanic ash, and the charge grows in the strong electric fields near thunderstorms. When the voltage is high enough, the charge discharges into the air from edges and points, including the windscreen frame and its tiny imperfections, creating the glow.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What are static wicks on aircraft wings?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Static wicks, or static dischargers, are thin rods or spikes on the trailing edges of wings and tail surfaces. They let electrical charge built up in flight bleed away gradually through fine points, carbon-coated rods or carbon wicks. 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The glow is now attributed to ash particles striking the aircraft.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/british-airways-flight-9-volcanic-ash-747-glide-1982\/\">The Night a 747 Lost All Four Engines<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lightning-strikes-your-plane-twice-a-year\/\">Lightning Strikes Your Plane Twice a Year<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/foo-fighters-wwii-mystery-lights-night-pilots\/\">The Glowing Orbs That Chased WWII Pilots<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/william-rankin-fell-through-thunderstorm-1959\/\">The Man Who Fell Through a Thunderstorm<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why aircraft windscreens and wingtips glow blue near thunderstorms: St Elmo&rsquo;s fire, corona discharge and the static wicks on every airliner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":29389818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[665],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29389906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-world"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>St Elmo&#039;s Fire: Why Aircraft Glow Blue in Storms | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"St Elmo&#039;s fire explained: the corona discharge that lights up cockpit windscreens near thunderstorms, why it is harmless, and what static wicks 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