Southwest Airlines Flight Struck By 'Possible Lightning' During Memorial Day Weekend Storms

NEED TO KNOW

A aircraft touring from Tampa to Denver “sustained a potential lightning strike,” in response to Southwest Airlines
The airline instructed PEOPLE that following the Sunday, Might 25 incident, “Our upkeep groups took the plane out of service for inspection”
There have been no reported accidents

A Southwest Airlines flight made a secure touchdown after probably being struck by lightning throughout Memorial Day weekend.

Southwest Airlines instructed PEOPLE in an announcement that the Sunday, Might 25, flight touring from Tampa Worldwide Airport “sustained a potential lightning strike” on its solution to Denver Worldwide Airport and “landed safely.”

“Our upkeep groups took the plane out of service for inspection. There have been no accidents,” the assertion continued.

Emergency crews at Denver Worldwide Airport additionally responded per normal protocol, per KUSA.

Inventory photograph of Southwest Airlines aircraft.

DANIEL SLIM/AFP through Getty

In response to CBS Colorado, citing FlightAware knowledge, Southwest Airlines Flight 168 took off from Tampa Worldwide Airport at about 6:54 p.m. EDT. It landed at Denver Worldwide Airport at 8:23 p.m. MDT and arrived at its gate 13 minutes later.

Passenger Mariah Torrez instructed KUSA she heard a loud bang and noticed a flash of sunshine whereas touring by tough turbulence about 20 minutes from touchdown in Denver.

“So I used to be simply form of looking the window, and unexpectedly I simply see this brilliant gentle, form of like, gentle up the plane, and form of shook our seats a bit bit, and we have been like, Oh my gosh. Like, what simply occurred?” she recalled.

“I am taking a look at my husband, and he was like, I feel we simply bought hit by lightning,” continued Torrez. “And I used to be like, No method. After which everyone form of round us was, like pondering the identical factor.”

The Nationwide Climate Service states on its website that business transport passenger planes are hit by lightning a mean of “one or two occasions a yr.”

Inventory picture of lightning.

Getty

“They’re designed and constructed to have conducting paths by the aircraft to take the lightning strike and conduct the currents,” the web site states.

By no means miss a narrative — join PEOPLE’s free every day publication to remain up-to-date on the very best of what PEOPLE has to supply, from superstar information to forcing human curiosity tales.

Whereas it’s unknown the place the potential lightning strike occurred, CBS Colorado reported that the aircraft’s mapped course confirmed it flying over a storm system in central Louisiana and east Texas halfway by the flight.