A Delta Airlines flight bound for Rome was forced to turn around over the Atlantic Ocean and return to Boston after a lightning strike.
Delta Flight 112 from Boston Logan International Airport to Rome’s Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport was disrupted by the terrifying weather incident Sunday night, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
The seven-year-old Airbus A330 made the U-turn while already flying over the Atlantic during what was planned to be a seven-hour flight, according to Flightradar24.
Following the impact, the plane made a safe landing in Boston with no injuries reported.
“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 Rome’s Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport was disrupted by lightning Sunday night
The flight had to turn around over the Atlantic Ocean and land again in Boston after the weather incident.
‘The flight landed safely and without further incident.’
Fire crews were deployed to the airport and could be seen surrounding the plane after it landed at around 7:20 p.m.
Delta rushed passengers to their destinations following the disruption.
“We are working to get our customers to their final destination as quickly as possible and apologize for the delay in their travel,” Delta said.
“The safety of our customers and our people remains Delta’s top priority.”
The FAA said it was investigating the incident, though it stressed that federal agency regulations “require commercial airplanes to be designed to withstand lightning strikes.”
But this is not the first time a commercial airliner has been struck by lightning in a terrifying incident at 30,000 feet.
Last month, a British Airways plane was struck by lightning as it approached London’s Heathrow Airport.
The 13-year-old Airbus A320 was forced to divert to London Gatwick Airport and remained there for almost six hours before being cleared to fly again.
In February, a United Airlines Boeing 732 and a Spirit Airlines Airbus A320neo were struck by lightning on the same day.
The United plane was flying between Jacksonville International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport and was approaching the airport when the incident occurred.
Spirit’s Airbus A320neo was en route from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas to Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport but had to divert to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport due to the lightning strike.
Lightning strikes during flights are very common and usually harmless: most incidents occur during takeoff or landing, or at altitudes between 5,000 and 15,000 feet.
Experts suggest that most aircraft are struck by lightning once or twice a year.