Drama on the flight Belgrade - Podgorica: A lightning struck the passenger airplane of Montenegro Airlines
A passenger said that she heard a thunder and the lights went off on the entire plane
A passenger plane which flew last night from Belgrade to Podgorica was struck by lightning. This information was unofficially confirmed by The Directorate of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Serbia, where they told us that they were waiting for an official report in two to three days, but that nothing unusual happened.
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However, the passengers were confused because, as one passenger said, she has heard a thunder and lights went off for a moment on the plane.
The plane landed in Podgorica without much drama 10 minutes later.
- Everything happened in the moment when we were landing. This happened for the first time. It is great that I am on the ground again - one of the passengers said to the CdM.
It's not rare for a lightning to hit a plane, like a top of the nose or the end of the wing. The electricity travels through the metal outer layer of the plane before it leaves at the other end, on the tail for example.
Ligninghs hitting airplanes are far more normal than people think and know, claim the pilots. Every plane is struck by a lightning once in two years on average.
They are made in such a way that it poses no problem at all, but sometimes, outer damages can occur or damage on electrical systems.
Modern planes are built from a light carbon material, and they are covered in thin layer of copper. That means that the area inside of metal, where the passengers are placed, is protected from the electric currents. What is most important, fuel reservoirs are not exposed to the sparks of the lightning, and the surrounding metal, joints, entrance door, fuel lids, are also capable of withstanding the lightning strikes, which can cause temperatures up to 30.000 degrees C.