One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Lightning Strikes Plane Landing At LAX
Photo by gui jun peng via Shutterstock.com
It sounds scary: a lightning struck a plane just as it was about to land at LAX this morning. But the phenomenon is pretty common and on average every airliner will be struck by lightning once a year.
In this case, the Delta Airlines flight from Narita, Japan landed at 8:10 am just as it was hit by lightning, according to City News Service. There were no injuries. Los Angeles was the final destination for the passengers.
FWIW, lightning hasn't caused an airliner crash in the U.S. in more than 40 years when a Pan Am Boeing 707 in a holding pattern over Elkton, Maryland was struck, igniting fuel vapor in a tank and causing an explosion. This led to a lot of rules requiring airplanes have built-in systems that would prevent a spark from igniting a fire, according to USA Today.
Several lightning strikes were observed in West Los Angeles and Marina del Rey this morning. By 9 am this morning, a storm has dropped .28 inches of rain at a gauge in Culver City. There's a 70 percent chance of rain for the rest of the day, according to the National Weather Service.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
