KLM flight KL-435 continued for a safe landing at Bahrain International Airport, Bahrain, on April 14th.
The Airbus A330-200, flying from Doha, Qatar, was mid-air when it was struck by lightning, but the crew continued to Bahrain.
The plane landed safely.
All 124 people onboard remained unharmed.
Finnair flight AY-165 had to return and make an emergency landing in Helsinki, Finland, on April 8th.
The plane took off for to Saint Petersburg, Russia, but had to turn back after a lightning strike caused some electrical problems.
The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained safe.
A Lufthansa Cityline plane was struck by lightning while it was descending towards Sibiu, Romania, on April 7th.
The Canadair CRJ-900 was flying from Munich, Germany, when a lightning strike caused a crack in its windshield.
The plane landed safely. No injuries were reported.
The return flight was cancelled.
American Airlines flight AA-4233 had to divert and make an emergency landing at John. F. Kennedy Airport, New York, on March 17.
The Embraer ERJ-175, en-route from Raleigh, North Carolina to La Guardia Airport, NY was struck by lightning, due to which the crew diverted for a safe landing.
The plane landed safely.
All 55 passengers and 4 crew members onboard remained unhurt.
China Eastern Airlines flight MU-5414 had to return and make an emergency landing in Chengdu, Sichuan province of China, on February 21st.
The Airbus A321-200 took off for Shanghai Pudong International Airport, China, but had to return shortly afterwards after the crew reported a lightning strike.
The plane landed safely. No injuries were reported.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
Delta Airlines flight DL-1832 made an emergency landing in Phoenix, Arizona, on January 31.
The plane was flying from Atlanta, Georgia, when lightning struck it, prompting the pilot to declare an emergency.
The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained safe.
Singapore Airlines flight SQ-107 made a safe landing at Changi Airport, Singapore, on November 24.
The Airbus A330-300, en-route from Kuala Lampur, Malaysia to Singapore, was struck by lightning shortly before landing.
The plane landed safely.
All passengers aboard remained unharmed.
A British Airways flight BA-760 made a safe landing at Bergen Airport, Bergen, Norway, on November 13.
The Airbus A319-100, en-route from London to Bergen, was struck by lightning shortly before landing.
All passengers aboard remained unharmed.
A KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight KL-1201 made a safe landing at Stavanger Airport, Stavanger, Norway, on November 13.
The Fokker 70, en-route from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Stavanger, was struck by lightning shortly before landing.
All passengers aboard remained unharmed.
An Alaska Airlines Flight 006 returned to Los Angeles International Airport, California, on the afternoon of July 18.
The Boeing 737, heading towards Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Virginia, had to return for an emergency landing after it was hit by lightning.
The plane landed uneventfully.
All 159 passengers aboard remained unhurt.
A plane, carrying members of the Karmanos family, had to make an emergency landing at Oakland County International Airport, Michigan, on June 14.
The owner of NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, Peter Karmanos Jr., his wife Danialle Karmanos and their four sons were heading from Detroit to New York when lightning struck their plane, causing an electric fire on-board.
The plane made a safe emergency landing and everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Garuda flight GA 698 had to make an emergency landing at Frans Kaisiepo Airport in Biak, Papua, Indonesia, on January 26.
The flight, heading from Manokwari to Sentani Airport, Jayapura, had to declare emergency after one of its wings got damaged.
According to the Head of Sentani Airport, Herson, the technicians in Biak found black smoke coming from the left wing of the plane. He added, “It is suspected that the flight was struck by lightning.”
Some passenger reported that the flight was postponed till Tuesday.
Blue Islands flight SI718 had to divert and make an emergency landing at London Southend Airport in Essex, United Kingdom, at around 6:37 p.m. on January 13.
The flight, heading from Jersey to London City, was diverted after it was struck by lightning.
The ATR42 aircraft, carrying 30 passengers, landed uneventfully. None of the passengers and crew members was hurt.
Airline authorities said the aircraft was taken for inspection while the return flight to Jersey was cancelled.
An Alitalia flight from Ancona had to make an emergency landing at Fiumicino airport in Rome, Italy, on November 5.
The incident happened after the right engine of the ATR 72 twin turboprop aircraft was struck by lightning while passing through a severe storm.
The plane landed uneventfully and all 51 passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
The aircraft was taken for examination.
United Airlines flight UA5 had to return and make an emergency landing at London Heathrow Airport, UK, at around 3 p.m. on October 10.
The Boeing 787, en-route to Houston, Texas, was returned after it got struck by lightning midair.
The plane landed uneventfully and none of the 130 passengers was hurt.
United Airlines said that the aircraft was taken for examination.
The Federal Aviation Administration is amending the lightning protection airworthiness standards.
New lightning protection regulations are beibg estabkusged for electrical and electronic systems installed on aircraft certificated under parts 23, 27, and 29.
Revised lightning protection regulations are also established for electrical and electronic systems installed on airplanes certificated under part 25.
Two levels of lightning protection for aircraft systems based on consequences of system function failure will be established by this rule.
1.) Catastrophic consequences which would prevent continued safe flight and landing;
2.) Hazardous or major consequences which would reduce the capability of the aircraft or the ability of the flightcrew to respond to an adverse operating condition.
Lightning protection for aircraft systems are to be established according to the aircraft’s potential for lightning exposure. Airworthiness standards establish consistent lightning protection requirements for both aircraft electrical and electronic systems.
