Just Off The Landas, The Airbus Beluga Aircraft Was Struck By Lightning In Wales

Illustration of Airbus Beluga XL aircraft. (Wikimedia Commons/Lesbardd)

The lightning grabbed one of the largest aircraft in the world, an Airbus Beluga weighing 85.6 tonnes, while flying over northern Wales, after taking off from Hawarden Airport in triangshire, local media reported.

Reportedly, dozens of people reported hearing a 'big explosion' and flash of light. Some also reported missing power and TV reception.

Meanwhile, Airbus said the flight continued as usual and landed safely at the destination airport, Hamburg, Germany.

"At 1 pm today, Beluga XL5, who departed from Hawarden Airport, was struck by lightning," Airbus said, launching The National News November 3.

"This is something that often happens on flights, while the plane continues its journey to Hamburg as planned," the company said.

"In accordance with standard operating procedures, the aircraft will be inspected before the next flight," he continued.

Separately, the US National Weather Service said commercial passenger planes were struck by lightning on average once or twice a year.

It said the plane was designed and built with a conduction line to withstand a lightning strike.

"Actually, planes often trigger lightning strikes, because their presence increases the surrounding electric field which is typical of thunderstorms and facilitates electrical disturbances through the air," he said.

But a very intense lightning strike can damage avionics, including radar and antennas.

It is known, Airbus Beluga, with a wingspan of 45 meters, made its first flight in 1994. Jet successfully completed its first operational flight after making more than 700 flight test hours.

A larger version, Airbus BelugaXL, made its first operational flight in 2020. shaped like a whale, the aircraft is 63 meters long, eight meters wide and has the largest cargo space cross section of all cargo aircraft in the world.