If A Plane Was Flying At 40,000ft Above Chernobyl At The Time Of The Disaster, Would The Pilots Be Affected?

Question

Would the pilots receive a dose of radiation, if yes would it be the same amount as someone on the ground standing 40,000ft away from the Power Plant?

Answer 1

No, but only because the radiation was not released in a burst like a nuclear bomb. It was released in the form of dust and traveled only as fast as the wind can carry it.

If it has been released as a burst of radiation, the aircraft would have been effected greatly. The skin of the aircraft would have been no protection.

In fact, the crews who test dropped nuclear weapons had a great deal of radiation exposer, some of them becoming horribly sick within a few hours and almost dying.

Answer 2

Chenobyl never happened, it was a CIA plot (just like the moon landings).

Answer 3

Test pilots from Britain dropped a nuclear bomb from 32,000ft, the engineer was blinded after not wearing goggles for around 30 seconds. So visually yes, mentally yes.  

Answer 4

Not by radiation. But after answering the question 'what the h**l was that?', they may get depressed.

Answer 5

No.

Answer 6

No!

Answer 7

No.  The plane would have also been traveling more than 500 mph.  The radiation couldn't get to them that quickly.

Answer 8

If they were flying over the building at the exact moment of the blast, then no.  It did not reach the upper atmosphere that fast.  A few hours later depending on which direction they were flying they could have been exposed to some of the radiation.  And just because an aircraft is pressurized does not mean it can not be effected by radiation. It's not a force field.  The only thing that would have protected it is if it was made out of lead.  

Answer 9

Nope nore would the plane, 40,000ft is a long way up... :)

Answer 10

Good question.

The blast would have in no doubt spouted Radiation to higher than 40,000 feet but not immediately.

However, to fly at that altitude, the plane would need to be pressurised so the radiation would`t have penetrated the outer skin of the plane.  

Answer 11

No, they wouldn't be affected.  In fact, they wouldn't even have noticed the explosion, most likely.  Most of the radioactive exposure came from dust and gases near the ground, not from the reactor itself, so someone 40,000 feet above the reactor would receive far less radiation than someone 40,000 feet to one side of the reactor.

Chernobyl was not a nuclear bomb, it was an explosion of a reactor due to excessive head build-up, and the explosion blew off part of the reactor and allowed radioactive substances to escape in a dust and gas cloud that drifted for a considerable distance.  The danger was to people on the ground near the reactor or in the path of the drifting dust and gases who might be exposed to their radiation.  Airplanes flying over the area were never at any real risk.

While Chernobyl was a considerable disaster, the death toll is still about five times lower than that caused by mercury poisoning in Minimata, Japan, and almost 100 times lower than the death toll of the Union Carbide methyl isocyanate disaster in Bhopal, India.  Radioactive accidents get more press because they seem more scary, but the danger from them is similar to that of other large industrial accidents and pollution.

Answer 12

no