Lightning hits China Southern Airbus A321 while taxiing, 20 strike marks found
A China Southern Airlines flight was forced to abandon its departure and return to the gate at Shenzhen airport over the weekend after the Airbus A321 aircraft was struck by lightning while taxiing. Flight CZ3209, bound for the city of Wuxi in China’s eastern Jiangsu province, was waiting on the ground during a heavy thunderstorm on Saturday afternoon when the incident occurred, according to a…
On Saturday afternoon, a China Southern Airlines Airbus A321 en route to Wuxi, China, was forced to return to its gate at Shenzhen Airport after being struck by lightning while taxiing. The incident occurred during a heavy thunderstorm and was reported by a passenger who shared their experience on social media. According to the passenger, a massive thunderclap erupted directly beside the aircraft, causing it to shake.
The pilot then announced that the plane would require an inspection. China Southern Airlines confirmed the incident and revealed that about 20 strike marks were found on the plane's underbelly and elevators. The airline swapped the aircraft for another of the same model to prevent severe delays and fully repaired the damaged plane by Sunday, returning it to regular commercial service the following day.
The replacement flight took off at 8.40pm and landed in Wuxi at 10.49pm, four hours later than originally scheduled. Lightning strikes are common in commercial aviation, and while dramatic, damage is typically limited to exterior scorching.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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