What Happens if An Airplane Gets Struck by Lightning?

Lightning strikes on airplanes are not as rare as one might think. In fact, almost every commercial jet is struck by lightning at least once a year! There is a good chance that you’ve been in one when it was struck by lightning; you simply might not have realized that it was actually a lightning strike that hit your plane, and not just a ‘technical aberration’ in the smooth path of the flight.

A lightning strike usually hits an extremity of an airplane, like its wingtip or its nose, travels through the body of the plane, and then exits through another extremity. Since lightning carries a lot of charge and is incredibly hot, many people assume that a plane would be instantly engulfed in flames and crash. However, in most cases, lightning does not have as serious an impact as one might expect. A plane continues to function normally, even after having been struck by lightning.