A plane had to make an emergency detour after being hit by lightning near Heathrow Airport.

Passengers aboard a British Airways flight were in for a wild ride as their plane was struck by lightning en route to Heathrow Airport. The flight, BA919, was coming from Stuttgart, Germany and was due to land at 1:40pm. However, as it was approaching for landing, a bolt of lightning hit the wing, causing the pilot to make an emergency diversion to Gatwick, which was about 25 miles away.

One passenger by the name of Jeco managed to capture a photo of the lightning strike and shared it on social media. He also praised the crew for their quick thinking and calmness during the unexpected event. Despite the shock, the passengers were safely transferred from Gatwick to Heathrow by ground transportation.

A British Airways spokesperson explained that the diversion was due to weather conditions in the area. Thankfully, the plane landed safely at Gatwick and no one was hurt. The incident was handled by the airline, according to a spokesperson from Heathrow Airport.

As it turns out, BA919 was not the only plane to experience a lightning strike while approaching Heathrow that day. Another passenger, Ben, reported that their flight was also struck by lightning, with the bolt entering just underneath the flight deck and exiting through the tail. Luckily, their flight was able to continue its approach and landed without any further incidents.

Although lightning strikes on commercial planes are not uncommon, with an estimated one or two incidents per year, it is still a rare occurrence. In fact, planes can sometimes trigger lightning themselves when flying through highly charged clouds. However, they are designed to withstand such strikes, with the electricity being conducted through the plane's structure.

It is worth noting that the last commercial plane to crash due to a lightning strike was in 1967, when the contact caused a fuel tank to explode. As a precaution, planes are required to undergo mandatory inspections after a lightning strike, which can result in costly delays and diversions. Despite this, the safety measures in place ensure that incidents like these are rare and passengers can still trust in the reliability of air travel.

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