Model of airplane-associated ball lightning in the atmosphere based on concepts of electric reconnection and critical ionization velocity

Summary form only given. Attempts to apply a general model of ball lightning based on electric reconnection and critical velocity to airplane-associated ball lightning outside in the atmosphere and/or inside the plane. To make an electric reconnection feasible, the airplane must be invading an electric cusp formed by a horizontal dipole-like cloud charges with their images onto the ground, thereby forming a quadrupole, similar to the case of rocket-triggered lightning. This can be proved by referring to a good correlation between frequencies of fireball outside airplanes and flash observations in ´stratified clouds´ during a year. There are many possibilities of leaders starting from a sharp portion of the airplane, typically its front tip or tail and advancing toward one of the clouds. The leaders can be positive or negative, moving toward the negative or positive clouds, respectively. Then, there may be a chance for leaders to be forced to stop as a result of conversion of flow to ionization energy and no continuing energy supply sufficient for further advancement. Thus, space charges at the leader head could create a fireball, possibly with a nucleus of dust grain. With the aid of dust substances (e.g. emanated from a plane-tip) contained in the leader, the ball tends to remain there longer as long as the partial energy supply for sustaining the ball still lasts, as indicated by laboratory fireballs.