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Passenger recalls moment lightning cracked cockpit windscreen on flight to Aberdeen

Derren McRae's Loganair flight was hit by "severe turbulence" on Thursday and forced to return to Manchester.

The cracked windscreen of the Loganair plane. Image: Loganair.
The cracked windscreen of the Loganair plane. Image: Loganair.

A passenger aboard a Loganair flight to Aberdeen has described the moment lightning struck the plane, cracking the cockpit windscreen.

Derren McRae, from Aberdeen, was flying back home from Manchester on the 4.20pm Loganair flight LM026 on Thursday, December 5.

He recalled that the weather in Manchester was “horrendous” as he boarded, with heavy rain and strong winds sweeping through the area.

The conditions were worsening due to the arrival of Storm Darragh – which was expected to bring rain, snow, and gusty winds – and the Met Office had issued multiple yellow weather warnings

Derren McRae from CBRE was on the flight. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

Mr McRae – who is managing director at CBRE – recalled that as soon as the Embraer jet took off, turbulence became a major issue.

He said: “The weather was pretty horrendous as we boarded the plane with strong winds and rain coming down in Manchester.

“So straight from take-off there was turbulence on the flight and we were asked to keep our seat belts on.”

‘Severe turbulence’ throughout Loganair flight

About 20 minutes into the flight, Mr McRae recalls experiencing a period of “severe turbulence” – though, at the time, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

He said: “I don’t think anyone realised that the plane had been hit by lightning as there wasn’t a big flash or anything.

“Like me, I suspect most just thought it was turbulence.”

However, while flying just over Skipton, the cockpit windscreen cracked, limiting the pilot’s visibility.

Mr McRae says the pilot then came onto the tannoy to announce that the plane had been struck by lightning and they would be landing back in Manchester in five minutes.

An emergency ‘Squawk code 7700’ had been called by the pilot, so they were met by the safety crew on landing.

Squawk 7700 is an alert that indicates an aircraft is in distress and needs immediate assistance from air traffic control.

“We eventually disembarked and were taken back to the terminal. The last flight to Aberdeen was more or less full I and whilst I believe the airline did try and get a larger plane, I just decided to get a train back to Aberdeen,” he said.

Unfortunately, trains to Manchester city centre were also impacted by flooding so Mr Mr McRae had to get a tram.

“By the time I eventually got into the city centre, I just decided to stay over again and caught an early train this morning,” he said.

Mr McRae managed to get a train to Aberdeen, arriving just after 1pm following a lengthy journey – and almost 24 hours after his flight first took off.

A spokesperson for Loganair said: “Loganair can confirm flight LM26 from Manchester to Aberdeen was diverted back to Manchester following a lightning strike.

Plane on the tarmac back in Manchester. Image: Derren McRae.

“The aircraft landed as normal and our team is currently arranging onward travel for customers to reach their final destination.

“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is of the utmost importance to us at Loganair.

“We thank our customers for their patience and understanding, and our ground crews for their assistance.”

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