British Airways Boeing 787-800 was hit by lighting during climbing from London’s Heathrow Airport en route to Chennai in India. The accident did not caused any problems for the plane and due to absence of any abnormal indications, the pilot decided to continue the flight. The airplane landed safely in India after 9 hours flight. All the passengers were disembarked to the terminal, but due to the lightning strike was ordered for inspection before return to service.
The post flight inspection revealed the aircraft had received about 42-46 holes as result of the lightning strike, which must be repaired. British Airways dispatched engineering personnel to India to inspect the aircraft. According to the airline the Boeing 787 suffered only minor damage following a lightning strike.
However, the aircraft was unable to depart for the return flight and remained on the ground in Chennai. British Airways sent a replacement aircraft to substitute the damaged one.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American long-haul, mid-size widebody, twin-engine jet airliner. The airplane is made with the use of composite materials as the primary material in the construction of its airframe. The aviation safety inspectors will consider this fact in their survey of the reason for lighting strike and if the materials have relations with this.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner was designed to be 20% more fuel efficient than the Boeing 767, which it was intended to replace. The 787 Dreamliner’s distinguishing features include mostly electrical flight systems, raked wingtips, and noise-reducing chevrons on its engine nacelles. It shares a common type rating with the larger Boeing 777 to allow qualified pilots to operate both models.
