Flight Hit By Lightning Returns Back to Banglore
In a rare incident, an AirAsia India flight was struck by lightning while on its way from Bengaluru to Hyderabad on the morning of 2nd August.
Imagine sitting inside a flight, which is hit by lightning mid-air. Yes, this has happened for real, and surprisingly the incident took place in India. In a rare incident, an AirAsia India flight was struck by lightning while on its way from Bengaluru to Hyderabad on Tuesday morning of 2nd August. As a result, the flight was forced to return to the Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore where it started. However, none of the passengers on board the flight were hurt. But the aircraft appears to have suffered minor damages
The Airbus A320 took off from Bengaluru airport at 7.39 am. It was carrying 91 passengers on board. According to an airline spokesperson, "AirAsia India flight I5-1576, operating from Bengaluru to Hyderabad, returned to Bengaluru due to air traffic congestion caused by bad weather." An inspection by the airline later revealed that the aircraft had encountered a lightning strike. Lighting strikes although rarely occur. But they do occur sometimes and aircraft are safeguarded against strikes that do not pose a risk. The safety of guests and the aircraft remained intact at all points," the spokesperson said.
A passenger Dr. Arun Mavaji had tweeted that after returning to Bengaluru and refueling, airline staff realized that the aircraft was damaged. AirAsia responded that a change in aircraft was being made to carry the passengers. Another flier Rudrani tweeted: "I5 1576 was diverted back to Bengaluru from Hyd on the pretext of refueling. A report by the New Indian Express said that the flight reached Hyderabad on time and was waiting to land above the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. It was at this spot, while it was taking rounds above the airport waiting for the clearance to land, and during the time it was struck by lightning.Passengers were then told that the plane will fly back to Bengaluru's KIA for refueling, however, the real reason is said to be air traffic congestion at Hyderabad due to the bad weather, because of which the plane could not land.
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