‘Bang’ as lightning hits flight
The strike will give at least two young kids something to talk about at school news
Apassenger on a plane struck by lightning has described the moment the bolt hit one of the engines and “whacked the plane”.
“It was a real smash . . . just this huge bang and lightning flicked past the cabin,” Don Martin told the Herald on Sunday.
Air NZ flight 615 was taking off from Auckland en route to Queenstown about 9.30am yesterday when lightning struck.
“The plane was halfway up its ascent and suddenly did a quick, quite sharp turn to the left, and following that there was lightning and it hit the plane like you’d hit a power pole [in a car crash],” the 73-year-old said.
“It really whacked the plane, beside us. It hit the top of the engine on the right-hand wing, so it was pretty exciting stuff.”
The plane, understood to be an A320 Airbus, kept going on a straight course out to sea before the pilot continued towards Queenstown.
“About half an hour later the pilot tells us that he wants to land and have it checked.”
The aircraft diverted to Christchurch where engineers assessed the plane. Martin, wife Lynne, 68, their son Paul and his wife Emily, and their two grandchildren aged 7 and 5, were among 141 passengers and crew on board.
Martin said the pilot had warned passengers it might be a bit “lumpy” getting off the ground; thunderstorms were passing over Auckland.
“I don’t know why he turned. Maybe he saw it coming and thought ‘I’m getting out of this’. I thought ‘Gee he’s turning early’.”
After the bolt struck, Martin noticed a dent on top of the engine cover. He didn’t know if it was there previously but noted: “The next plane didn’t have one.”
Everyone remained calm thanks to a reassuring crew — “they did a good job” — and once on the ground in Christchurch, a waiting flight took them to Queenstown.
Martin said he and his family were heading to Wanaka for a holiday and the incident would give his granddaughters something to talk about for school news when they returned.
Despite having flown many times, he’d never been struck by lightning and was pretty relieved when they touched down in Queenstown.
“I’m good now I’m on the ground.”
It was a real smash . . . just this huge bang and lightning flicked past the cabin. Don Martin