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Need to know
- A plane traveling from Tampa to Denver “maintained a possible lightning strike”, according to Southwest Airlines
- The airline told People that after Sunday May 25 -incident, “Our maintenance team took the aircraft out of operation for inspection”
- No damage was reported
A Southwest Airlines flight made a safe landing after being beaten by Lightning during the Memorial Day weekend.
Southwest Airlines told People in a statement that Sunday, May 25, flight traveling from Tampa International Airport “got a possible lightning strike” on the way to Denver International Airport and “landed safely.”
“Our maintenance teams took the aircraft out of operation for inspection. There were no damage,” the statement continued.
Emergency crews at Denver International Airport also responded by standard protocol, per ALMOST.
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty
According to CBS ColoradoWith reference to Flightware data, Southwest Airlines Flight 168 from Tampa International Airport took about 18:54 EDT. It landed at Denver International Airport at 20:23 MDT and arrived until its gate 13 minutes later.
Passenger Mariah Torrez told Kusa that she heard a high blow and saw a flash of light as she travels through rough turbulence about 20 minutes from landing in Denver.
“So I just looked at the window, and suddenly I just see this bright light, kind of similar, light up the aircraft and shook some seats a bit, and we were like, oh my gosh. Which, what happened just?” She remembers.
“I look at my husband, and he was like, I think we were just hit by lightning,” Torrez continued. “And I was, no way. And then all kinds around us were like thinking the same thing.”
National Weather Service says on its Website That commercial transport passenger plan suffers from lightning strikes on average “once or twice a year.”
Getty
“They are designed and built to have leading roads through the plane to take the lightning strike and perform the currents,” says the website.
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Although unknown where the possible lightning strike occurred, CBS Colorado reported that the aircraft’s mapped course showed that it flies over a storm system in central Louisiana and East Texas halfway through the flight.
