An airplane flying from the United States (US) to Mexico returned just eight minutes after taking off from the Philadelphia International Airport, reporting double consecutive lightning strikes.
The incident occurred on Friday when the flight crew of Spirit Airline’s plane, Airbus A321, reported that they are returning back to the airfield ‘out of caution’ since they had been hit by lightning two times in a row.
The Airline reported to CNN later that the flight had landed safely and that they were preparing to re-accommodate the passengers.
US Federal Aviation Agency is now investigating the incident further.
Contrary to popular belief, aircraft getting struck by lightning is a common event. Although these incidents occur often, serious harm is rarely inflicted.
According to the National Weather Service in the United States, most commercial airplanes are hit by lightning either once or twice each year on average. According to a 2018 Time Magazine story, the last commercial aircraft tragedy caused by a lightning strike happened in 1967.
