An Air New Zealand plane heading from Auckland to Rarotonga had to turn around shortly after take off as it was struck by lightning.
The plane circled over Tāwharanui for an hour before heading back down to Auckland.
Flight NZ942, an Airbus A321-271NX, took off at 6am and started circling approximately 30 minutes into the flight. It was off the coast of Tāwharanui Peninsula when it turned around after circling seven times.
The plane then landed back in Auckland at abut 8am.
Planes are designed to withstand lightning strikes. The strike often happens while the aircraft is up in the clouds or during the climb and descent phases of a flight. It’s quite rare that lightning would strike during other parts of a flight.
This is because lightning is more prevalent between 5000 and 15,000 feet (1524m to 4572m).
Planes that fly shorter routes have a higher probability of lightning strikes as as they fly in areas of high incidence, while long-haul planes spend more time out of these areas where lightning strikes are likelier.
The damage caused to an airplane by a lightning strike can vary greatly. It depends of an array of factors, including the energy level of the strike, the duration of the strike and the attachment and exit locations.
A single bolt of lightning can have up to one million volts or 30,000 amps.
A strike is deterred by the aluminium used on the exterior of an aircraft as it conducts electricity and allows lightning to pass across the skin and the current leaves out of the tail.
Small wires (known as static wicks) are screwed into the trailing edge of plane wings and discharge static electricity an aircraft picks up as it flies but also dissipate a lightning strike.
A paper from Boeing said that passengers and crew on board may see a flash and hear a loud noise when lightning strikes a plane.
