A video of an Air Canada Boeing 777-300ER being struck by lightning on take-off from Vancouver has been posted on Twitter.
Although a lightning strike can be terrifying to passengers, aircraft are designed to be able to withstand most strikes.
On average, every plane is hit once a year.
Most lightning strikes on aircraft occur below 4000m (12,000ft).
Only 10 per cent of strikes are a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time — nine out of 10 are triggered by the aircraft as it flies through a heavily charged area of cloud.
While strikes are common, serious accidents are rare as the aircraft and its passengers are protected by the design of the aircraft which forces the lightning to redistribute itself on the outside skin.
In about a third of cases, aircraft suffered minor damage such as burn marks, residual magnetism and arcing at hinges.
To see a lightning encounter from the cockpit see here.
Lightning by the numbers:
1800 The number of thunderstorms storms worldwide is in progress at any given moment.
40-100 The number of lightning flashes every second
24,000 Average deaths from lightning each year
240,000 The number of injuries from lightning
58 The number of deaths in the US
90 Per cent of people who are struck survive.
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