Confidential Human Factors
Incident Reporting Programme
The Charity
Aviation
Maritime
CC6757
Initial Report
Shortly after take-off, during the climb phase of flight, the crew were released from their seats. The seatbelt sign was still illuminated for passengers. There was a sudden strong acrid smell throughout entire aircraft (similar to an electrical fire). An interphone call was placed immediately to the flight crew who advised we were flying between lightning clouds and a âknown phenomena were this can produce this smellâ.
A cabin crew member later reported seeing a flash through the forward cabin at the exact same moment of the smell and suspected a lightning strike. This was reported to the captain, who questioned the crew member on what exactly they had seen.
Flight continued to {Airport} without further issue. On landing into {Airport} I heard the Captain verbally report to engineering possible lightning strike. The Engineer was furious. He was very vocal about – an ACARs (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) message should have been sent. And the need to conduct lightning strike checks now that it has been reported, the length of time involved in completing those checks was approx. 6 hours, and the fact that the aircraft now wonât be going out as scheduled.
I donât know why, but when I got home, I checked flight radar and saw that aircraft departed as scheduled for {Airport} 2.5hrs after it arrived from {Airport}. There is so much pressure on tight turns at the moment. My concern is that the lightning strike checks of the aircraft were not completed.
Company Comment
The Operational Safety team confirmed that a lightning strike inspection was carried out with nil damaged noted. The aircraft was inspected by Engineering with a walkaround completed by the next Flight Crew with no damaged reported.
CAA Comment
The cabin crew were correct in reporting what they experienced in the cabin in order to assist the flight crew in identifying the cause of the event and take appropriate action. Operators have maintenance procedures for assessing the effects of lightning strikes and ensuring the airworthiness of an aircraft.
CHIRP Comment
As previously noted, cabin crew are an integral part of the safety chain, and their role in communicating with the flight crew is paramount. As the flight crew’s eyes, ears, and nose in the cabin, the cabin crew should always inform the flight crew of anything unusual or worrisome, as this reporter did.
All large aircraft must be designed and certified to withstand lightning strikes without sustaining significant damage to their structure or effects on their systems that would adversely affect safety for the remainder of the flight. When lightning strikes an aircraft, a specific process must be applied to detect any damage caused by the strike, evaluate the damage, and perform the necessary repair before returning the aircraft back into service.
There are several types of post lightning strike inspection depending on the severity and evidence of a lightning strike. This enables flexibility depending on airline operations, time constraints, human resources, availability of ground support equipment, etc. Two and a half hours may be sufficient to carry out the inspection, although even the preliminary inspections still would likely have required a âCherry Pickerâ. For more information on lightning strikes and aircraft, click on this link Lightning Strikes | Safety First
The reporter describes a âsudden strong acrid smellâ – Ozone and nitrogen oxides created by ionized air produce a piercing odour. Lightningâs odour can be noticed immediately after a strike occurs and resembles the scent of burning electrical equipment. Lighting Has a Smell, And The Science Behind It Is Beautiful : ScienceAlert
A similar report to this was received in 2022 and can be reviewed here CC5862 – CHIRP