A recent emergency landing from a Spirit Airlines flight that was reportedly due to being struck by lightning twice just after taking off from Philadelphia is currently under investigation from the FAA.
According to CNN, Spirit Airlines says that the Airbus A321 en route to Cancun turned back to Philadelphia International Airport “out of an abundance of caution after the crew reported a suspected lighting strike.”
“The aircraft landed safely, and we are currently working to reaccommodate our guests,” Spirit said in a statement, per the report. The airline did not say how many passengers were on board the flight.
LiveATC air traffic control recordings captured the communication exchange between the Spirit flight crew and Philadelphia air traffic controllers – “We were struck by lightning twice,” said the crew. “We’re gonna have to come back to the airfield.”
The Federal Aviation Administration says the incident happened at 11 a.m. local time Friday.
