You’ve no doubt heard a million horror stories about airplanes falling to pieces as they take off or land lately, but this time, it doesn’t seem to be the fault of a certain major aerospace company…
Reports over the weekend revealed how a Delta Air Lines flight traveling from Boston, Massachusetts to Rome, Italy, was hit by lightning while in the air. The news was shared by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which confirmed that the flight was diverted to Boston Logan International Airport. Thankfully, the strike was reported by members of the crew not long after the flight took off, meaning it was a short journey back to the airport.
The airline confirmed that the plane safely returned to the airport at 7:20pm Eastern Time on Sunday, August 4. A statement from the FAA also revealed that the plane was an Airbus A330.
One passenger, Donna Pilat, told ABC News about her experience on the flight as it happened. According to Pilat, passengers heard a “small pop” inside the plane, but other than that, there wasn’t much to report.
Upon landing, though, there were fire trucks waiting on the runway.
“We could smell burning rubber from the wheels,” she said, adding that the plane was towed to the hanger upon its arrival.
This Happens A Lot
It might sound surprising, but planes are hit by lightning fairly frequently. Commercial airplanes are typically hit by lightning once or twice a year. As was the case with the flight to Rome, planes are typically undamaged by strikes, but they are often diverted to nearby airports when it happens out of an abundance of caution.
Planes use various pieces of technology to mitigate the impact of a lightning strike. A static wick, for example, is a tool fixed to a plane that provides an alternative path for static charge to discharge. Made of a conductive material like carbon fiber or metal, these static wicks are attached to the edges of an airplane’s wing and tail. Static electricity that builds up as the plane moves through the air discharges via the wick, and so does lightning. The wicks work like a lightning rod, attracting the energy and allowing it to dissipate into the air around it.
So, if you’re ever hit by lightning on a plane…don’t worry too much!