Plane makes emergency landing after lightning strike in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

A Turkish Airlines (THY) aircraft carrying passengers from Istanbul to the southern province of Antalya has been struck by lightning shortly after takeoff.

After the THY flight for Antalya departed from Istanbul Airport on Jan. 29 at 9:25 a.m., the cabin crew promptly informed the control tower that the aircraft was hit by lightning.

Following the pilot's communication with air traffic authorities at Istanbul Airport, the crew decided to return, and the aircraft safely landed back at Istanbul Airport at 10:16 a.m. The plane underwent a thorough inspection by the technical team, local media reported.

In a separate incident, passengers from a flight departing from Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport for Saudi capital Riyadh, at 9:15 p.m. on Jan. 27 reportedly experienced unusual sounds from the cargo compartment shortly after takeoff. Passengers claimed to have heard "calls for help" from the cargo area, which were relayed to the flight cabin by the staff. After discussions with the pilot, an emergency landing at Antalya Airport was decided.

Search operations were conducted inside the aircraft, and the luggage of passengers was subjected to X-ray screening. With no adverse findings, the luggage was reloaded onto the plane. Following the investigations, the authorities decided to proceed with the flight. After an approximately three-hour delay, passengers were reboarded.

The Airbus A321 operated by Pegasus Airlines, took off from Antalya Airport around 2:30 a.m. to resume its journey to Riyadh.