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Video captures plane on runway getting struck by lightning

SINGAPORE — A man waiting for his delayed flight at the Atlanta airport unknowingly captured a rare footage of a plane getting struck by lightning earlier this week.

Screengrab from YouTube of the Delta plane getting struck by lightning. Photo: Jack Perkins/YouTube

Screengrab from YouTube of the Delta plane getting struck by lightning. Photo: Jack Perkins/YouTube

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SINGAPORE — A man waiting for his delayed flight at the Atlanta airport unknowingly captured a rare footage of a plane getting struck by lightning earlier this week.

In the video posted on Youtube on Wednesday (Aug 19), Mr Jack Perkins wrote that he was “filming the line of planes all stacked up during a ground hold in Atlanta” and “happened to capture this direct lightning strike on a 737”. Halfway through the 36-second video, lightning can be seen striking the Delta airplane on a runway.


However, Mr Perkins did not realise he had captured the lightning strike until he watched the video later on, according to FOX CT. His video now has more than one million views on YouTube in just a few days.

The lightning struck Las Vegas-bound Delta Flight 67 while the Boeing 737-900R aircraft was in the takeoff queue in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, reported CNN.

Confirming the incident, Delta spokesman Morgan Durrant told CNN in an email that there were no reports of injuries among the 111 passengers and six crew members on board. CNN reported that the plane took off two hours later than scheduled but landed only 20 minutes after its scheduled time.

Explaining how no one on board got injured, Mr Durrant said: “Aircraft design allows lightning bolts to be safely redirected … Fuselage structure and industrial-grade insulation acts as (a) super-conductive lightning rod that re-channels lightning around and away from customers and crew and out into the ground via the landing gear.” SYAFFANA SAZALI

Sources: CNN, FOX CT

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