A Delta Air Lines flight from Boston to Rome was forced to make a precautionary return to its point of departure following a lightning strike after takeoff. The flight operating as flight number DL112 and flown by an Airbus A330-300 landed back at Boston and all passengers and crew onboard were unharmed.
The incident unfolded on the evening of August 4, 2024, as flight DL112 climbed out from Boston-Logan International Airport (BOS) on its way to Rome’s Fiumicino-Leonardo Da Vinci Airport (FCO). The flight departed from Boston at 18:22 local time and headed east out over the Atlantic Ocean for the seven hours 15 minutes flight to Rome. However, at around 18:45, the aircraft stopped its climb at 16,000ft and turned back towards Boston.
The aircraft landed back on runway 22L at Logan Airport at 19:19 and was met by airport fire and rescue services upon its arrival. An airline spokesperson said that there were 212 passengers and crew onboard the flight who would be re-accommodated on alternative flights to their destination.
Aircraft suffering lightning strikes are not uncommon, particularly as aircraft make good conductors of electricity and travel through areas of electrical activity regularly. However, out of an abundance of caution, the crew onboard Delta flight 112 decided to return to Boston rather than head out over the Ocean at night without having the aircraft fully checked out by engineers back on the ground.
According to ch-aviation, the aircraft involved in the incident (registered N831NW) is 7.4 years old and was first delivered to Delta in April 2017. The plane accommodates 282 passengers in a three-class configuration (34 in business class, 21 in premium economy, and 227 in economy). The aircraft remains on the ground in Boston at the time of writing.
Meanwhile, adding to Delta’s challenges in recent days, another Delta-operated flight from Minneapolis to Houston (DL2683) was forced to return to Minneapolis-St Paul Airport (MSP) after smoke was detected in the cabin after takeoff. The flight, operated by Airbus A220-300 N305DU departed Minneapolis at 20:40 local time on August 2, 2024, when the presence of smoke in the cabin was detected following a technical fault with the aircraft.
The flight eventually made a safe landing back at the airport following which it was grounded for two days during which it was examined by Delta engineers before being allowed back into service.
