A holidaymaker has described the terrifying moment lightning struck the plane he was on just seconds after it took off from Manchester Airport. Nassar Massalha, 62, was aboard a Pegasus Airlines flight bound for Istanbul when the incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon, June 9.
According to Massalha, a sound like a 'massive explosion' was heard as the aircraft left the runway. The plane circled for approximately 40 minutes before returning to the airport as a safety precaution. This marks the second instance of a plane being affected by adverse weather in the region on the same day, following a Jet2 flight from Leeds Bradford that was also struck by lightning and diverted to Manchester.
Speaking about his ordeal, Massalha told the M.E.N: 'As soon as the plane left the ground, it was struck by lightning. For a second it looked like a ball of fire on the left-hand side of the aircraft.' He added that all passengers and crew were unharmed. Around five minutes after takeoff, the captain announced the lightning strike and informed passengers they would return to Manchester as a precaution. The captain reassured everyone that the situation was under control.
After landing back in Manchester, passengers were given £42 vouchers for food. Massalha, from North Wales, said they were transferred to a replacement flight scheduled to depart at around 11pm on Tuesday. He remarked: 'It sounded like a massive explosion for a split second. Amazingly, none of the passengers and crew reacted to it; people were asking each other about the sound.'
Manchester Airport confirmed that the plane was struck by lightning. A Pegasus Airlines spokesperson stated: 'As a precautionary measure, passengers were transferred to another aircraft.'
