Jet blast

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jet Blast is the phenomenon of rapid air movement produced by the jet engines of aircraft, particularly on or before takeoff.

A large jet-engined aircraft can produce winds of up to 100 mph (160 kph) up to 200 feet (60m) behind it at 40% maximum rated power. Jet blast can be a hazard to people or other unsecured objects behind the aircraft, and is capable of flattening buildings and destroying vehicles.

Despite the power and potentially destructive nature of jet blast, there are relatively few jet blast incidents. Due to the invisible nature of jet blast and the aerodynamic properties of light aircraft, light aircraft moving about airports are particularly vulnerable.

Propeller planes are also capable of generating significant rearwards winds.

[edit] Trivia

The movie "Casino Royale" contains a chasing scene in which a police car gets into a runway when a Boeing 747 was about to touch down. Seeing the car in runway, the pilot decides to go-around and increases the throttle to 100% N1. The Jet blast from the exhaust of the engines blows the car off the ground.