There were some scary moments for passengers aboard a small plane en route from Comox to Vancouver on Monday night.
Emergency crews were called to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) after Pacific Coastal Airlines flight 713, carrying 27 passengers and three crew members, was struck by lightning.
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Airline spokesperson Kevin Boothroyd said the aircraft was struck when it was about 20 minutes out from Vancouver.
The Saab 340 twin-turboprop landed safely around 7:45 p.m, Boothroyd said.
“As to procedure and training, the crew immediately declared an emergency situation due to the lightning strike,” he said. “The aircraft was in operation normally, as it was operating normally throughout.”
YVR staff said there were no impacts to airport operations due to the incident.
Boothroyd added that despite the crew’s emergency response, modern aircraft are built to handle exactly these types of situations.
“It’s a pretty unusual event to happen at this time of year around the Vancouver Airport. But a thing to note is that aircraft are designed to withstand a pretty severe lightning strikes,” he said.
Boothroyd said there were no reports of injuries associated with the strike.