An international flight was forced to re-route after it was struck by lightning in mid-air.
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According to NBC Boston, Delta Airlines Flight 112 took off from Boston International Airport on Sunday, Aug. 4, at approximately 6:08 p.m. and was heading to Rome, Italy when the weather decided to put a stop to the original itinerary. The incident occurred within an hour after takeoff.
After the international flight was hit by the lightning, it headed back to Boston.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that it returned to Boston around 7:20 p.m. The organization shared that regulations require commercial planes to be designed to withstand lightning. It is planning to investigate the situation.
NBC Boston further reported that there was no immediate word on when the plane could safely depart again for Italy following the weather incident. A Delta spokesperson told USA Today in a statement that the decision to divert was made “out of an abundance of caution after encountering lightning.”
Delta Airlines also stated that the aircraft landed safely. No injuries were reported among the 204 passengers or 12 crew members. Passengers were also able to rebook for a later flight to Rome.
“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’s spokesperson shared. “The safety of our customers and people remains Delta’s most important priority.”
British Airways Flight Was Also Struck By Lightning While Touching Down at Heathrow
Last month, a British Airways flight was struck by lightning as it was descending into Heathrow Airport.
The DailyMail reported that Flight BA919 was traveling to Heathrow from Stuttgart. Some of the passengers were returning from the Euro 2024 matches in Germany. They told the media outlet that they were shocked after the mid-light incident.
The lightning strike caused the flight to divert to Gatwick.
“The crew were amazing when our flight got struck by lightning on the approach to Heathrow,” one passenger stated. “It was shocking. The flight had to divert to Gatwick.”
Another person, who said their son and grandson were onboard, stated it was the “flight from hell.” This was after passengers were delayed by overheated brakes in Stuttgart before being diverted due to lightning.
A fellow passenger then shared, “‘The captain made a decision to land at the safer airport given the conditions and lightning strike. Once on the tarmac he was informative and even walked the length of the plane to talk to all passengers. Cabin crew passed around bottled water and were calming. [It was] very professionally handled.”