US Airline’s Plane Gets Struck by Lightning Twice During Same Flight:
US Airline’s Plane Gets Struck by Lightning Twice During Same Flight
Some travelers departing from Philadelphia experienced a scare on Friday morning.
According to the Federal Aviation Association, the crew of a Spirit Airlines flight from Philadelphia to Cancun reported that the plane was struck by lightning twice shortly after takeoff on Friday morning (local time).
After that, the aircraft made an emergency landing after turning around.
Spirit said that it’s Airbus A321 returned to Philadelphia International Airport on its way to Cancun “out of an abundance of caution” after the crew reported what they believed to be a lightning strike.
Spirit said in a statement: “The aircraft landed safely, and we are currently working to re-accommodate our guests.”
The number of passengers on board was not disclosed by the airline.
The FAA is looking into the emergency landing.
The exchange between the flight crew and Philadelphia air traffic controllers was captured on live air traffic control recordings.
The National Weather Service in the United States reports that most commercial airplanes are struck by lightning once or twice per year on average.
According to a Time Magazine article from 2018, the last commercial aircraft disaster caused by a lightning strike occurred in 1967.
