Officials with the Royal Canadian Air Force said technicians are investigating after a pilot was forced to land his CF-18 Thursday – after it was hit by lightning.
RCAF officials said the plane was hit by lightning late Thursday morning, while it was being flown to the Whitecourt airshow from High River, where the pilot and the aircraft had appeared in another airshow.
The pilot, Capt. Adam Runge, said he was about 10 minutes away from Whitecourt when the fighter jet was hit. He reported the electronics on the plane started flashing, and he felt a tingling through his body.
“Just a quick flash of light,” Runge said. “You could see the bolt coming towards the aircraft and a bit of static electricity hitting the aircraft.
“I could feel that run through my body really quickly, and also a bit of a crackle over the radio.”
Firefighters and emergency crews rushed to the airport as a precaution, and greeted the jet when it landed – however, the Runge was not injured, and the plane had no visible damage.
Officials said the aircraft was being looked at by technicians a short time later to ensure the aircraft was not damaged before it flies again.
The aircraft is expected to fly in the airshow this weekend.
With files from CTV’s Ashley Molnar and Mercedes Stephenson
