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American Airlines returns plane after lightning strike forces diversion

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American Airlines returns plane after lightning strike forces diversion
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Simple Flying | Simple Flying

On December 20th, an American Airlines Airbus A321 had to return to Charlotte after being struck by lightning during its departure. The aircraft involved, N996AN, is an eight-year-old Airbus A321-200 delivered to American Airlines in December 2016.

Flight AA506 was bound for Seattle and left gate B9 at Charlotte Douglas International Airport at 16:58 local time, following a delay of 40 minutes due to unspecified reasons. According to Flightradar24 data, the flight took off from runway 36C at 17:21 local time and climbed through 29,000 feet when it experienced a lightning strike on its nose.

The pilots decided to return to Charlotte as a precaution but did not declare an emergency. The aircraft landed safely back on runway 36C at 18:13 local time and taxied to gate A12 after spending just 52 minutes in the air.

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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.

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