Plane makes an emergency landing at Gatwick after lightning strike

A plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Gatwick after being struck by lightning.

The Thomson Airways flight, which was travelling from Manchester to Agadir in Morocco, was an hour into its journey went it was hit by a bolt of lightning on Thursday evening.

The plane took off from Manchester at 6.42pm and eventually landed at its final destination three hours late at 1.08am on Friday.

A spokeswoman for Thomson Airways said the lightning strike was an "extremely rare" event.

She added: “Thomson Airways would like to apologise for any inconvenience to our customers on board flight TOM732 travelling from Manchester airport to Agadir in Morocco, which was diverted to London Gatwick airport as a precautionary measure due to adverse weather.

“The flight departed from London Gatwick airport as quickly as possible afterwards and customers have arrived safely in Morocco.

“The safety of our customers and crew is of paramount importance to us and we would like to reassure everyone that events such as these are extremely rare.”

The Boeing 737 can carry up to 189 passengers, but it is not known how many were onboard at the time.

A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said: "Aircraft are built to withstand lightning strikes, so significant damage to the airframe is very rare.

"If an aircraft does suffer a lightning strike it will be thoroughly inspected by engineers once on the ground before being released back into service.

"Weather radar installed in the aircraft can help pilots monitor areas where lightning activity is likely and so, if possible, take avoiding action."