Two flights had to turn back mid-air thanks to some seriously bad weather. One of the jets headed for Queenstown from Auckland had to make a U-turn after, get this—being struck by lightning on Wednesday (9/10/2024). Yep, that happened.
According to Stuff.co.nz, the NZ613 flight took off as planned at 9:50 AM, but things went sideways once it hit Taranaki. That’s where they decided to turn the bird around.
Captain David Morgan, who’s in charge of keeping things safe and sound at Air New Zealand, explained, “New Zealand’s weather wasn’t in the mood for flying today.”
“This morning, NZ613 from Auckland to Queenstown had an unexpected meet-and-greet with a lightning bolt,” he said, probably while trying not to sound too nonchalant about the whole thing.
Since the weather and the lightning hit weren’t exactly on the to-do list, the plane was rerouted back to Auckland, where it landed safely.
Morgan added that the Airbus A320 is now chilling on the ground, undergoing a routine check-up. Meanwhile, the passengers were all switched to another flight and eventually sent on their merry way.
Flight NZ681 from Wellington had its own drama too. The plane had to try not once, but twice, to land in Dunedin, but both attempts were a no-go. And if the bad weather wasn’t enough, some poor passengers apparently couldn’t hold it together—literally. Several folks ended up tossing their cookies after the plane hit some serious turbulence. Sounds like a real party in the sky, right?
RNZ reported that Dunedin Airport made an announcement blaming the turbulence and wind shifts for the wild ride. While that’s not exactly comforting, at least it explains why some passengers were reaching for the barf bags.
The Airbus A320-232 left Wellington at 8:50 AM and was supposed to touch down in Dunedin by 10:10 AM, but Mother Nature had other plans. Wind warnings were in effect along the Dunedin and Clutha coasts until 5 PM, so it was a no-go for landing.
Captain Morgan (yep, that’s still his name) said the airline’s ground staff were working hard to sort things out for all the passengers in both Wellington and Dunedin. He also gave a shoutout to the travelers for their patience as they scrambled to figure out the next steps.
Now, about that lightning strike—apparently, it’s not that rare for planes to get hit, but it still sounds pretty terrifying.
In 2019, two of their flights got zapped within 12 hours—one heading from Auckland to Tahiti and another from Palmerston North to Christchurch. Seems like someone should start selling “I survived the lightning strike” T-shirts on those flights.
Every time a plane gets hit by lightning, it has to go through a thorough check-up. Sure, it delays things, but better safe than sorry, right? Morgan mentioned that pilots are trained to handle lightning strikes like pros, so next time your plane gets a little too cozy with some storm clouds, you can rest (a bit) easier knowing they’ve got it under control.