Summary
- A Delta Airbus A330 was forced to cut short its flight to Rome and return to Boston following a lightning strike. The plane made a safe landing, and no injuries were reported.
- Lightning strikes on airplanes are not uncommon, with incidents occurring more frequently than many realize.
- Modern planes are equipped with features like static wicks to counteract static charges from lightning strikes.
A transatlantic flight by Delta Air Lines had to return to Boston following a lightning strike on Sunday evening. Airplanes are made to withstand lightning strikes, and Delta’s decision to turn around the A330 was apparently taken to err on the side of caution.
Delta flight returns after lightning strike
On August 4, a
flight between Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) had to turn back after being struck by lightning. The aircraft involved in the incident was a 7.4-year-old Airbus A330-300, registered N831NW.
It was performing flight DL112 between Boston and Rome, with a scheduled departure time of 18:10 and an arrival of 08:15 local time. The aircraft made a safe landing in Boston with no reported injuries. Fire trucks were deployed at the airport in case of an emergency.
Delta Air Lines was said to be making arrangements for passengers bound for Rome. WCVB quotes an airline representative as saying,
“Delta flight 112 operating from Boston to Rome returned to Boston out of an abundance of caution after encountering lightning. The flight landed safely and without further incident. We apologize for the delay in their travel. The safety of our customers and people remains Delta’s most important priority.”
Not uncommon
Such incidents are more common than one might expect. Last month, a British Airways Airbus A320 flying from Stuttgart to London Heathrow had to divert to London Gatwick after being struck by lightning. The 13-year-old aircraft stayed at Gatwick for nearly six hours before being allowed to fly again.
In February, a
United Airlines Boeing 737 and a Spirit Airlines Airbus A320neo
were struck by lightning on the same day. The United aircraft was performing flight UA555 between Jacksonville International Airport (JUX) and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and was on the approach to the airport when the incident occurred.
Photo: Nieuwland Photography | Shutterstock
Spirit’s Airbus A320neo was operating flight NK509 from Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) to Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport (MKE) but had to divert to Chicago O’Hare due to the lightning strike.
In June last year, an
Air New Zealand Airbus A321neo suffered a lightning strike
just minutes into its flight to the Cook Islands. The aircraft was forced to return to Auckland Airport after it remained in the sky for just under two hours to burn off excess fuel.
Airplanes are made to withstand lightning
Aviation authorities mandate that aircraft be designed to withstand lightning strikes. Airplanes are good conductors of electricity due to their use of metal, and lightning usually strikes them in the extremities, such as the nose or the wing tip.
Airplanes worldwide are struck by lightning every day, and most incidents occur during takeoff or landing at altitudes between 5,000 and 15,000 feet. Modern airplanes come equipped with various features to counteract a lightning strike, such as static wicks, which are metal rods sticking out of the trailing edge of the wing that dissipate the static charge caused by lightning. Simple Flying has done a detailed write-up on this topic in the article below.
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