A recurrently scheduled Norse Atlantic Airways flight Z0-711, on Saturday, July eighth, took off from London Gatwick Airport (LGW), with the destination set to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The aircraft departed at 13:16, but after circling around within the air for over 2 hours and half-hour, it landed back in LGW.
The Flight
Flight Z0-711 is a each day scheduled service operated by Norse Atlantic Airways between LGW and LAX. The flight has a scheduled departure time of 10:35 from Gatwick and, after a flight time of 11 hours and 35 minutes, a landing time of 14:10 at Los Angeles. The carrier uses its Boeing 787-9 aircraft to serve this route.
As reported by Air Live, on the day, the flight, after taking off, climbed to 26,000 feet and entered a holding pattern to the north of Cambridge and stayed in it for around 20 minutes, during which period it circled the pattern twice.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Easy Flying
The flight took off from LGW at 20:58 and landed in LAX at 23:08, after a flight time of 10 hours and 11 minutes.
Easy Flying has reached out to Norse Atlantic Airways to know further details in regards to the incident. Any response from the airline might be updated into this text.
Protection from lightning strikes
While airlines actively attempt to avoid electrical storms to flee turbulence and wind shears, modern aircraft as of late are built to resist lightning strikes that are more common than most individuals know. Hence, pilots are sometimes forced to fly through the storms, especially near the airport.
Considering the potential of lightning strikes, the manufacturers incorporate several static wicks on the trailing fringe of aircraft wings and tailplanes. It acts as an exit point for electricity, wherein if the aircraft is struck by lightning, it flows through the outside metal of the aircraft and discharges once it reaches the static wicks, leaving the passengers and crew unharmed.
Photo: Robert Avgustin | Shutterstock
The function of those wicks is to conduct lightning safely away from the aircraft. After landing, the aircraft might be inspected for any damage the strike could have caused. Potential places to sustain damages include rivets and aircraft exterior surfaces.