Delta Air Lines flight from Boston to Rome struck by lightning, forced to return
Delta Air Lines flight from Boston to Rome encountered a lightning strike on Sunday (August 4) and was subsequently forced to turn back over the Atlantic Ocean, returning to Boston’s Logan International Airport.
In a statement, Delta Air Lines said, “Delta Air Lines Flight 112 from Boston to Rome returned to Boston out of an abundance of caution after encountering lightning.”
“The flight landed safely with no further incidents,” the statement added, “We are working to get passengers to their final destination as quickly as possible and apologize for the disruption to their travel plans. The safety of our customers and employees remains Delta Air Lines’ top priority.”
Delta Air Lines Flight 112 departed Boston around 6:10 PM on Sunday and was expected to arrive in Rome, Italy at 8:15 AM local time on Monday if the flight had proceeded as scheduled.
According to data from the flight tracking website FlightAware, the flight turned back to Boston’s Logan International Airport around 7:20 PM after flying over the Atlantic for approximately an hour.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that the flight crew on the Airbus A330 aircraft reported being struck by lightning shortly after takeoff.
The FAA mentioned in a statement that the agency is investigating the incident, while also noting that regulations require commercial aircraft to be designed to withstand lightning strikes.
Local Boston TV station WCVB reported that fire trucks were waiting around the runway when the flight landed at Logan Airport.
Boston Emergency Medical Services stated that no passengers or crew members required medical assistance.
Storms along the U.S. East Coast on Sunday also caused other air traffic issues, leading several flights bound for New York to be diverted to Boston.