Cloud-to-ground strikes to the NASA F-106 airplane

Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning strike data on the NASA F-106B research aircraft obtained during the 1984-86 storm seasons in the vicinity of Wallops Island, Virginia, are analyzed. The results suggest that CG strikes may represent a significant portion of the total number of lightning strikes encountered by the aircraft at altitudes below 6 km. It is unlikely that an aircraft encounters the first return stroke of the CG flash. The current values of the CG strikes are not different from currents in other types of strikes.