Delta Flight Struck by Lightning

A Delta Air Lines flight was about an hour into its journey from Boston to Rome when it was forced to turn back Sunday night—due to a suspected lightning strike. The Airbus 333 landed safely back at Logan Airport, with no injuries reported, USA Today reports. A Delta spokesperson says the decision to turn around was made "out of an abundance of caution after encountering lightning." The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the incident, NBC Boston reports. "We are working to get our customers to their final destination as quickly as possible, and we apologize for the delay in their travel," the airline's rep added. "The safety of our customers and people remains Delta's most important priority."

FAA rules require commercial aircraft be able to withstand lightning strikes, and USA Today reports such strikes are not uncommon. Planes are designed to withstand lightning strikes thanks to the way the surfaces are bonded, which allows lightning to travel along the exterior of the plane and then back into the atmosphere with little to no risk to anyone inside the plane, the outlet explains. The likeliest damage would be just a small hole or burn mark. Standard procedure, however, dictated the plane involved in Sunday's incident was still taken out of service so a maintenance team can inspect it. (More Delta Air Lines stories.)