A United States-bound American Airlines flight was forced to make a U-turn and return to London just 30 minutes after it departed from Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom on Wednesday local time. Flight AA735 was headed to Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina when lightning struck it, prompting a mid-flight emergency scare, according to a report from the London Evening Standard.
All we know about the American Airlines flight’s lightning emergency
As per the London news outlet’s report, American Airlines Flight AA735 took off just after 3 pm local time on June 10. 30 minutes later, the aircraft was hit by lightning over Manchester airspace, England. Consequently, the pilots decided to turn the plane around and issue a squawk 7700, the code for a general emergency.
Air traffic control at London’s Heathrow Airport cleared the plane for a priority return. At 4:35 pm, the American Airlines plane safely landed right back where it started its journey.
Thereafter, Airport Rescue and fire crews inspected the plane on the runway. The London Standard further reported that the American Airlines jet will now undergo the usual mandatory post-strike checks from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and UK Civil Aviation Authority before it can undertake another air journey.
Lightning incidents hinder air travel in the UK
The US-bound plane wasn’t the only jet to face hindrances due to weather-related issues in the UK this week.
According to The Standard, a Jet2 flight was forced to make an emergency diversion to Manchester after being struck by lightning. It originally started its journey from Leeds Bradford Airport.
Similarly, a Pegasus Airlines plane bound for Istanbul had to return to Manchester Airport. The plane was hit by lightning during takeoff.
A third incident involved a plane being hit by lightning as it arrived at Manchester Airport from Santorini. Fortunately, the jet landed safely.
Such incidents are not uncommon. Even the National Weather Service states that commercial passenger planes are hit by lightning an average of one or two times a year. Nonetheless, large jets like the 777-300ER, which was central to the impacted London-Charlotte journey, are designed to conduct the current caused by lightning strikes.
The NWS notes, “[Aircraft] often initiate the strike because their presence enhances the ambient electric fields typical for thunderstorms and facilitates electrical breakdown through air.”
“When it is suspected that a plane was hit by lightning, there is a mandatory inspection for damage, which can delay flights and be quite expensive. For that reason, as well as for turbulence, they avoid thunderstorms as much as possible.”
In other news, the airport that the American Airlines jet was destined for was also the focus of another emergency-related development this week. On Thursday (US time), a Detroit-bound Delta Air Lines plane was diverted to the Charlotte Douglas International Airport after departing from Orlando. The jet’s crew declared an emergency due to reports of a suspicious odour in the cockpit.