During a regular Croatia Airlines (CA) flight en route from Zagreb to Podgorica on Wednesday, the plane was hit by lightning and the pilot decided to land at the nearest airport in Dubrovnik, the Croatian national carrier reported on Thursday.
The press release notes that the plane did not make an emergency landing but re-routed its flight due to lightning and turbulence and that the safety of passengers did not come into question at any time during the flight.
CA reported that company policy stipulated precautionary measures in events such as these and that planes should be completely checked to ensure complete safety. The plane was temporarily withdrawn from traffic and flew back to the repair and maintenance centre in Zagreb on Thursday.
The company reported that passengers were completely safe as planes have a Faraday cage which protects them from lightning. In 99% of cases lightning can do no harm to the plane.
The 39 passengers on board the plane were transported from Dubrovnik by bus to their end destination, Podgorica in Montenegro.
(Hina)
