Flight 4233 was travelling towards LaGuardia, an international airport in one of the five boroughs of New York from Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina.
The airplane was scheduled to land at the LaGuardia Airport however, on reaching New York City turbulent skies took over.
The plane was circling New York City and suddenly there was a bang with a burst of bright blue. According to passengers, it felt like it was hit by something.
The pilots then announced that the plane was struck by lightning and landing at the LaGuardia wouldn’t be safe due to thunderstorms in the area. Thus, the flight was diverted to JFK Airport, which is 10 miles away from LaGuardia.
At JFK, fire trucks were awaiting the plane’s landing in case of an emergency. As per an American Airline official, all 55 passengers and four crew members, who were in the airplane made a safe landing at JFK. Passengers who frequently travel claimed that they had never experienced something like this before.
While thunderstorm led to this lightning strike, even clear weather conditions can cause a lightning. Lightning is a result of high voltage currents in the atmosphere. Thus, during clear weather conditions, a lightning can strike an area. These strikes also have the potential to damage an airplane.
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