A systematic study of arc faulting between two cables in aeronautic conditions is performed and a power balance of the arc is realised. Electrical characteristics and radiative heat flux are recorded. The effect of the current mode (AC/DC), cable material and pressure are highlighted with the assessment of the power balance, that includes the mean power of the arc, the power transferred to the cables that can cause melting and vaporisation, and the power lost by radiation, conduction and convection in the arc column. The evaporated mass of the cables can be estimated in this way. Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES) measurements of the induced plasma are performed rendering the overall temperature of the arc using a Boltzmann plot method. The overall temperature is higher for copper contaminated plasma than for aluminium contaminated plasma. Despite the erratic behaviour of the plasma, the trend shows the DC current as well as the use of lighter aluminium based cables lead to a higher power.