[Dion]

Air France fears that flight AF447 was hit by lightning, setting off an electrical fault that could have damaged the in-flight computer systems that are a feature of Airbus aircraft and play an important role in directing the aircraft.

"Planes are routinely hit by lightning," says Daly. "It should not matter. However there is a tremendous amount of energy being absorbed by the plane. It can burn out electrical components. It can sometimes punch a hole through the metal. If you are unlucky enough to suffer a ­lightning strike at a crucial point of the structure then you have a problem. Also if a fire started then that is not a good thing and could go undetected for a time, causing more damage."

Pilots are traditionally wary of tropical zones, where storm clouds are prevalent, particularly when crossing the equator. The flightpath took the plane through a weather system called the ­intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), associated with violent storms, generated by ­equatorial heat.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009...air-turbulence