Spirit Airlines plane lands safely in Philadelphia after lightning strikes reported during flight
The FFAA said Spirit Airlines Flight 2214 landed safely at Philadelphia International Airport on Friday morning. The Airbus 321 was headed to Cancun International Airport.
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PHILADELPHIA – On a day filled with travel headaches, a U.S. plane bound for Mexico returned to the airport after crew members reported multiple lightning strikes during the flight.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Spirit Airlines Flight 2214 landed safely at Philadelphia International Airport about 11 a.m. local time Friday. The Airbus 321 was headed to Cancun International Airport.
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The airline told FOX Weather that the plane returned to the gate out of an abundance of caution.
"Our guests have deplaned in the terminal, and we’re currently working on options," the airline said in an email.
A Spirit Airlines passenger jet (Airbus A321) lands at LaGuardia Airport in New York, New York.
(Robert Alexander / Getty Images)
The FAA said they are investigating the incident.
Radar at the time of the reported lightning strikes shows a line of storms was in the vicinity. Several lightning bolts were also detected. A review of the flight path via flightaware.com showed the plane appeared to be in a holding pattern for a while before ultimately landing at the airport in Philadelphia.
This image shows storms and lightning detected at the time the Spirit Airlines flight returned to the airport in Philadelphia on Dec. 23, 2022.
(FOX Weather)
This comes as a dangerous blizzard intensified into a bomb cyclone Friday as it wallops the Great Lakes and Northeast with snow, damaging winds and plummeting temperatures, creating a travel nightmare for millions trying to reach their destination for the Christmas holiday weekend. The historic winter storm has placed ground stops at airports across the U.S. as winter alerts are up from Oregon to Florida.
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AAA predicted this week to be the busiest travel stretch since 2019, with millions of people excited to get home for Christmas.