[imagesource:needpix]

While Cape Town experienced a severe case of thunder and lightning this weekend, spare a moment for the terrified folks who had to fly in this weather.

It seems that the horrific weather conditions were not just isolated to the Southern Hemisphere as images of a lightning strike were captured by a passenger onboard a British Airways aeroplane heading towards London.

The Heathrow-bound plane, BA 919, was hit by a massive lightning bolt as it prepared for landing, causing the flight to abort the landing and divert to Gatwick Airport.

A FlightAware map shows how the plane charted a smooth course before suddenly circling and zigzagging away from Heathrow.

#shocking flight from @British_Airways today*

*this is a joke, the crew were amazing when our flight got struck by lightning on the approach to Heathrow and had to divert to Gatwick. Amazingly, someone caught it on video! pic.twitter.com/YERuZ4JYeg

— Kico (@mrs_jebu) July 7, 2024

Another passenger claims to have seen the bolt of lightning travel through the cabin of the aeroplane.

“It entered just underneath the flight deck and left the tail – we saw it shoot through the cabin.”

“I’d heard of lighting travelling through the cabin before but it was my first time seeing it in real life.”

British Airways said: “BA919 diverted to Gatwick earlier this afternoon due to weather-related conditions in the region. “The flight landed just before 2 PM. Customers were driven from Gatwick to Heathrow.”

Although scary, aircraft are struck by lightning once or twice a year.

[image:thesun]