Shocking: Lightning Strikes Boeing 777 After Takeoff at Vancouver Airport

Planes attract lightning bolts once or twice per year. While it may be frightening, passengers are usually unharmed thanks to the smart design of modern aircraft.

Lightning hit an airliner shortly after take-off from Vancouver airport this week, an eye-witness who captured the incident on video told CTV News.

Ethan West, 19, a student pilot, was near Vancouver International Airport when a lightning bolt struck on Monday evening. He was watching planes when he saw it happen. The plane struck was a Boeing 777-300ER.

"It's one of my favorite aircraft...It makes this really loud roaring noise, so I was trying to get that from the take-off thrust," said West, who is in the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) pilot program.

After the incident, West checked an online flight tracker. He confirmed that the Boeing plane continued its journey to London's Heathrow airport. "I watched it, it kept climbing...I guess they decided it was safe and okay to fly," he noted.

According to McGill University's Office for Science and Safety, lightning strikes a plane "about once a year." While it is scary, passengers inside are safe because of "smart design elements in airplanes," the article says.

Lightweight aluminium is the primary material used in the construction of most aircraft, with designs using other materials still incorporating metal frameworks. The metal framework conducts electricity, enabling even distribution across all metallic components once it enters.

Although lightning can cause damage, it has not resulted in a commercial aircraft loss in "many decades," says the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The American airliner maker Boeing has come under fresh scrutiny after a scathing report by federal safety experts exposed shortcomings in the company's safety practices.

The latest incident on January 5, 2024, where a Boeing Max 9 on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 suffered a cabin door blowout, added to the ongoing series of problems faced by the US aviation giant. This led to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily grounding 171 of the jetliners earlier this year.

A Boeing 747 cargo plane returned to Miami International Airport on January 19, 2024, after experiencing an "engine malfunction" shortly after take-off, the FAA reported.