Icelandair Plane Struck By Lightning, Nobody Hurt Despite Damage To Nose
An Icelandair plane heading to Denver, Colorado, was struck by lightning Tuesday. Surprisingly, nobody was hurt, although the plane’s nose had been damaged.
The unusual attack by nature happened shortly after the plane left Reykjavik, Iceland, and the pilot told the passengers there was nothing to worry about. The nearly 4,000-mile flight continued without any problems, but the passengers were shaken up by the fact that the Boeing 757 taking them to the United States had just been struck by lightning.
A lightning bolt took a chunk out of this plane’s nose mid-flight http://t.co/UWtQU6bQq1 pic.twitter.com/igXiAUrDBP
— New York Post (@nypost) April 9, 2015
Airline spokesman Michael Raucheisen said that a mid-air check had been made of all systems and everything was fine. The New York Post claims he said it wasn’t until the plane landed that the damage to the Icelandair plane’s nose had been discovered.
“If there were issues with the safety or flight worthiness of the aircraft there would have been a system notification or the pilots would have noticed the handling of the aircraft change. Neither of these were the case. After the strike there was no signal that the plane was unstable or unsuitable for flight.”
Aviation Professor Jeff Price told the Denver Post that large aircrafts are built to handle damage, and it rarely happens.
“It could be one of those weird ‘acts of God’ where it hit at the right point. The important thing is the plane landed safely.”
Allen Kenitzer of the Federal Aviation Administration says that the lightning strike will not be investigated due to international laws.
“This occurred in another country, to a foreign air carrier. The only reason they would have to report this occurrence to the FAA is if such a requirement is in their operating specifications.”
A member of the band The Bunny Gang, Nathen Maxwell, described the situation aboard the Icelandair plane.
“There was a loud bang and a pop – really loud – and a bright light. It was pretty scary.
“I think the entire plane may have had drinks. When we got off the plane, everyone was talking about it.”
Maxwell said he had been sipping a cocktail while the in-flight movie Interstellar was playing, and he even managed to get some sleep.
[Image via Adrian Pingstone / Wikipedia]
