An IndiGo passenger plane carrying 104 passengers and six crew members was struck by lightning while approaching Lucknow airport in India, leaving holidaymakers terrified but unharmed.
The Airbus A320-251N, operating flight 6E925 from Patna to Lucknow, reportedly encountered severe weather, including a hailstorm, while flying at about 17,000 feet.
Airport sources said the lightning strike occurred during the aircraft’s approach to Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport on Wednesday. The pilots alerted Air Traffic Control as a precaution after the aircraft was affected by the bad weather.
Despite the incident, the plane landed safely at around 4:04pm, about eight minutes ahead of its scheduled arrival time. None of the passengers or crew members were injured.
IndiGo said the aircraft sustained damage to its radome, the protective structure covering the weather radar system at the front of the plane.The extent of the damage was reportedly only discovered after the aircraft had left the runway and reached its designated parking bay.
The plane was subsequently grounded while engineers inspected and repaired the affected section.India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was informed about the incident in accordance with standard aviation procedures.
