BOSTON – A Delta Air Lines flight from Boston to Rome was forced to turn around and head back to Logan Airport Sunday night due to a lightning strike, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
Delta Flight 112
Delta flight 112 left Boston around 6:10 p.m. and was scheduled to land in Rome at 8:15 a.m. Monday local time.
According to flight tracker FlightAwarethe jet was about an hour into the transatlantic flight when it turned around and landed back at Logan at 7:20 p.m.
The FAA told WBZ-TV that the crew of the Airbus A330 “reported a lightning strike after takeoff.”
Hang gliding “meets lightning”
Delta would only say the jet turned after “encountering lightning.”
“Delta flight 112 operating from Boston to Rome returned to BOS out of an abundance of caution after encountering lightning,” Delta spokeswoman Emma Johnson told WBZ in a statement.
“The flight landed safely and without further incident. We are working to get our customers to their final destination as quickly as possible, and we apologize for the delay in their travel. The safety of our customers and people remains Delta’s top priority.”
The FAA said it will investigate the incident.
Logan airport storms
Storms on the East Coast caused other air traffic problems on Sunday.
Several flights bound for New York City were diverted to Boston.
Some passengers told WBZ-TV they sat on the tarmac at Logan Airport for hours because too many planes were coming in.
Others were forced to spend the night in Boston after being diverted. The bad weather also delayed and canceled hundreds of flights to Logan.