Summary
- A Delta Air Lines A321 declared an emergency due to a suspected lightning strike on a routine flight.
- No injuries were reported, and the plane landed safely pending a safety inspection.
- Lightning strikes on aircraft are routine, and most have few serious safety implications.
Early this morning, a Delta Air Lines Airbus A321 aircraft declared a state of emergency shortly before arrival at the airline’s fortress hub at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL). The jet was completing a routine flight from New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) before reports indicated that the plane was struck by lightning shortly before arrival.
No injuries occurred, and the aircraft was able to make a standard landing before proceeding directly to a gate where passengers deplaned. The aircraft had departed from LaGuardia multiple hours prior to the emergency being declared, and the aircraft had been cruising at 34,000 feet.
Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock
However, the specific circumstances that led to the pilots’ issuing of the Squawk 7700 code, an international standard for declaring an emergency, were routine. A full investigation is reportedly underway, and Delta Air Lines indicated to Simple Flying that the emergency was declared in line with the airline’s safety protocol.
Everything we know so far
The aircraft of concern was operating Delta Air Lines Flight 1192, a routine daily frequency between New York and Atlanta, according to Aviation Source News. The plane was scheduled to depart from LaGuardia at 07:00 but departed four minutes early at 06:56.
Despite its early departure, however, the aircraft did not touch down in Atlanta on time, arriving 17 minutes after it was scheduled to at 09:47. According to Atlanta-based news outlet WSB-TV 2, thunderstorms were reported in the area at the time of the incident, likely the culprit for the suspected lightning strike.
Photo: The Global Guy | Shutterstock
In a statement to Simple Flying, the airline indicated that the aircraft declared an emergency as mandated by its safety protocol. This emergency was declared so that the appropriate staff could be on hand at the airport upon the aircraft’s arrival and so that the plane could be thoroughly inspected upon landing before being placed back into service.
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Aircraft are struck by lightning an average of one or two times annually.
There was a second situation taking place onboard the jet at the time. As confirmed by the airline, a passenger had also experienced a medical emergency during the flight, which may have been a further reason for the emergency declaration. No additional details about this passenger’s condition have been made available.
Lightning strikes
While they may seem rather formidable, lightning strikes onboard aircraft are fairly routine. The average flyer will likely experience one during their lifetime, and the average commercial aircraft is likely to encounter one at least once a year. Nonetheless, lightning strikes are rare events that require an abundance of caution, such as an additional inspection upon arrival.
Photo: aappp | Shutterstock
However, as was the case with today’s incident, the vast majority of lightning strikes on commercial aircraft will have no serious safety implications. As noted when Simple Flying analyzed aircraft lightning strikes last year, the number of takeoffs undertaken by an aircraft, on average, greatly contributes to the likelihood of one being struck by lightning. As the aircraft in question during today’s incident was a narrowbody jet performing many daily short-haul flights, it is not surprising and perfectly expected that such an event would have occurred.
