A cargo plane of the aviation company Atlas Air was struck by lightning shortly after taking off from the airport in Varna. According to the specialized platform "Meteo Balkans", which disseminated the initial information and footage of Stanislav Manolov, the incident occurred without material damage to the aircraft and without injuries among the crew.
According to initial data, the aircraft entered an area with strong thunderstorm activity in the area of the seaside capital. Despite the direct hit from the atmospheric electrical discharge, the pilots did not lose control of the plane and continued the normal operation of all on-board systems.
Aviation authorities recall that such situations are routine for modern aviation. The structure of large aircraft is specially designed to withstand lightning strikes. Upon contact, the electrical charge travels through the outer metal casing of the machine and dissipates safely into the air, which completely isolates and protects critical navigation systems from damage.