A student pilot captured video of a Boeing being struck by lightning during takeoff.
A plane spotter was at Larry Berg Flight Path Park, near the end of the south runway at Vancouver International Airport, on Sunday and noted a Boeing 777 was departing.
He began to record the plane in the air when it was struck by lightning.
The Air Canada flight #AC860 was operated by a Boeing 777-300ER with registration C-FIVQ.
Rare catch ! Aircraft struck by lightning during thunderstorm at Vancouver International Airport (YVR).
alianii.l#aircraft #aviation pic.twitter.com/aF0oDM802s
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) March 5, 2024
The flight departed Vancouver at 19:25 PST and arrived at London Heathrow at 12:25 GMT.
Air Canada confirmed in a statement that a flight leaving YVR on Sunday had a lightning strike. The plane was inspected upon arriving at Heathrow Airport and has resumed service.
The airline said its planes are built to withstand lightning strikes and all aircraft are taken out of service to be checked by engineers after they’re hit.