A Delta Airlines flight to Rome was forced to turn around over the Atlantic Ocean and return to Boston following a lightning strike.
Delta flight 112 between Boston Logan International Airport and Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport was disrupted by the terrifying weather incident on Sunday evening, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
The seven-year-old Airbus A330 made the U-turn while it was already passing over the Atlantic during what was planned to be a seven-hour flight, according to Flightradar24.
Following the strike, the plane made a safe landing back in Boston with no reported injuries.
‘Delta flight 112 operating from Boston to Rome returned to Boston out of an abundance of caution after encountering lightning,’ Delta said in a statement.
Delta flight 112 between Boston Logan International Airport and Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport was disrupted by lightning on Sunday evening
The flight had to turn around over the Atlantic Ocean and land back in Boston following the weather incident
‘The flight landed safely and without further incident.’
Fire crews were deployed at the airport and could be seen surrounding the plane after it landed at around 7.20pm.
Delta scrambled to get passengers to their destinations following the interruption.
‘We are working to get our customers to their final destination as quickly as possible, and we apologize for the delay in their travel,’ Delta said.
‘The safety of our customers and people remains Delta’s most important priority.’
The FAA said it was investigating the incident, though it stressed the federal agency’s ‘regulations require that commercial aircraft be designed to withstand lightning strikes.’
But this is not the first time a commercial plane has been struck by lightning in a terrifying incident at 30,000ft.
Last month, a British Airways plane was hit by a bolt of lightning on its approach to London Heathrow Airport.
The 13-year-old Airbus A320 was forced to divert to London Gatwick Airport and stayed there for nearly six hours before being allowed to fly again.
In February, a United Airline Boeing 732 and a Spirit Airlines Airbus A320neo were struck by lightning on the same day.
The United aircraft was flying between Jacksonville International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport and was on the approach to the airport when the incident occurred.
Spirit’s Airbus A320neo was en route from Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport to Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport but had to divert to Chicago O’Hare due to the lightning strike.
Lighting strikes on flights are very common and are usually harmless – with most incidents occurring during take-off or landing, or at altitude between 5,000ft and 15,000ft.
Experts suggest most planes are hit by lightning once or twice a year.