Star Wars!

A recent incident involving a plane bound for New Jersey has raised eyebrows, as it sent 15 individuals to the hospital following a drastic drop in altitude last October. Experts suggest this plummet may have been caused by cosmic rays from a supernova occurring in another galaxy.

Clive Dyer, a space and radiation expert at the University of Surrey, posits that the JetBlue Airways Airbus A320 encountered a stream of high-energy particles from a distant supernova that exploded millions of years ago.

“Cosmic rays can interact with modern microelectronics and, well, they can kind of mess things up,” Dyer explained. “They might cause simple bit flips—like changing a 0 to a 1 or vice versa. This can confuse information and lead to unexpected errors. Moreover, they can induce enough current in devices to cause hardware malfunctions.”

This JetBlue flight, which was en route from Cancun to Newark on October 30, experienced a sudden descent during what was described as extreme turbulence. Fortunately, the pilot managed to regain control and executed an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida. Still, around 20 passengers suffered serious injuries, including some bleeding from the head.

Airbus declared that, initially, they attributed the incident to “a severe solar radiation” incident that affected the navigation system of a plane that had been in service for two decades.

However, Dyer suggests that the radiation levels were unlikely to have been significant enough to disrupt flight parameters. Instead, he believes the unexpected drop was mainly due to the effects of a supernova.

Cosmic rays are indeed produced by massive stars at the end of their lives. When they explode, they eject protons into space at incredible speeds. If these particles happen to collide with a plane’s sensors and electronic systems, they could disrupt its operations and lead to dangerous situations.