LUCKNOW: An IndiGo flight (6E925) from Patna to Lucknow was struck by lightning on Wednesday, damaging the aircraft’s nose and prompting an emergency landing at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport.
The pilots, who were unaware of the extent of the impact during the flight, landed the aircraft safely. All 104 passengers and six crew members were unhurt.
Flight 6E925 touched down at around 4.04 pm, approximately eight minutes ahead of its scheduled arrival time of 4.12 pm at Lucknow airport.
The flight took off from Patna airport at 3.10 pm on Wednesday. The same aircraft was scheduled to operate flight 6E6968 from Lucknow to Ahmedabad at 5.05 pm. According to airport sources, the lightning struck the aircraft at an altitude of around 17,000 feet.
All passengers were safe. However, after a technical issue was detected, the aircraft was grounded at Lucknow airport. IndiGo arranged another aircraft to carry the passengers to Ahmedabad. They were flown out at around 6.22 pm.
According to airport sources, the damage became evident only after the Airbus A320-251N (VT-IQZ) had vacated the runway and was parked at its designated bay.
Airport authorities said the pilots were unaware of the extent of the damage caused by the lightning strike. They had reported the strike to Air Traffic Control (ATC) as a precaution.
The damage was confined to the aircraft’s nose radome, which houses and protects the weather radar system.
Following post-flight checks, the aircraft was grounded and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was informed in accordance with standard operating procedures.
Engineers were carrying out repairs on the aircraft, which will leave Lucknow only after receiving the mandatory DGCA clearance before returning to service.