American Airlines returns plane after lightning strike forces diversion

Upon inspection, maintenance crews found significant damage to the aircraft's nose, which houses the onboard weather radar or "radome." This radar is crucial for navigating difficult weather conditions like those around Charlotte that day. Consequently, N996AN was grounded, and a replacement aircraft was arranged for the rescheduled flight the next morning.

The replacement flight took off on December 21st at 06:24 local time using another A321 registered as N581UW. After an uneventful journey lasting over five hours, it arrived in Seattle at 08:40 local time. N581UW is painted in a Piedmont Airlines retro livery and nicknamed "Piedmont Peacemaker."

American Airlines likely opted for a delay rather than canceling the flight entirely to avoid providing accommodations or compensation under airline policies.

Two days later, N996AN returned to service after necessary repairs were completed.

Airbus statistics indicate that commercial aircraft are typically struck by lightning once per year or every 3,000 flight hours on average. While most strikes are harmless due to fuselage design acting as a "Faraday Cage," they can be deadly if they cause significant damage. An infamous example occurred in 1963 with Pan Am flight 214 when lightning ignited its fuel tank during approach, resulting in the deaths of all passengers aboard.