One of the world’s largest aircraft, the Airbus Beluga XL5, was struck by lightning on takeoff last Tuesday, November 1, with a terrifying roar, scaring tourists and locals alike. The aircraft was en route to Germany from Hawarden Airport in Flintshire, North Wales in the UK.
A few minutes after leaving the ground, the ship was struck by lightning. The moment of impact and the “light explosion” that followed it, with a characteristic terrible sound, was recorded by video recorders of eyewitnesses, Dailystar reported. Dozens of motorists saw a white flash in the rain, which was caused by a double lightning bolt that stuck at both ends of the plane. After the incident, locals reported a power outage and loss of television signal in the area.
A representative of Airbus UK told local newspapers about it: “A Beluga XL5 aircraft departing from Hawarden Airport was struck by lightning today at 1:00 p.m. Although the flight continued as normal and landed in a German city a few hours after takeoff, the impact and subsequent “explosion” were very scary. This is a normal occurrence in aviation and the airliner continued on its way to Hamburg as planned. By standard operating procedure, the aircraft will be inspected before the next flight.”
Soon after, locals took to social media to share their fears after a loud rumble and flash of lightning. They also said fire crews were on their way to the area, although no outbreaks had been reported. It was clarified that the lightning did not disrupt the plans of the airliner: the plane, according to the schedule, landed in Hamburg, Germany.