A QANTAS plane bound for Port Macquarie on June 19 was forced to return to Sydney shortly after take-off following a suspected lightning strike.
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The plane landed back at Sydney airport at about 10.30am after lightning is believed to have hit the nose of the plane while flying over the Central Coast.
It landed back in Sydney at 10.30am after already experiencing delays due to adverse weather conditions.
“Flight QF2164 Sydney to Port Macquarie returned to Sydney shortly after take-off this morning following a suspected lightning strike,” a Qantas spokesperson said in a statement.
“Aircraft are designed to withstand and fly safely when struck by lightning but it is policy that they get inspected at their arrival port after a strike.
“Port Macquarie does not have the engineering support required for this inspection so the flight returned to Sydney. At no point was the safety of the flight compromised.”
Passengers were transferred to another flight.
The plane will be inspected by Qantas engineers.
The Bureau of Meteorology predicted the chance of thunderstorms across Sydney throughout the morning.