--- title: Video Appears to Catch Lightning as it Strikes Delta Plane description: A YouTube user claims to have seen a lightning strike a Delta plane in Atlanta airport or near the plane canonical: https://time.com/4004954/delta-plane-lightning-strike/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-20T16:32:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:48:14.116Z og:title: Video Appears to Catch Lightning as it Strikes Delta Plane og:description: A YouTube user claims to have seen a lightning strike a Delta plane in Atlanta airport or near the plane og:url: https://time.com/4004954/delta-plane-lightning-strike/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Video Appears to Catch Lightning as it Strikes Delta Plane twitter:description: A YouTube user claims to have seen a lightning strike a Delta plane in Atlanta airport or near the plane twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # See the Shocking Moment Lightning Hits a Plane > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ## Video: What is the safest place to sit on a plane? [Watch (HLS stream): What is the safest place to sit on a plane?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bJ6pkbGM.m3u8) (1:50)  _Published 2015-06-24. Where you should sit next time you get onboard_  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Aug 20, 2015 4:32 PM UTC  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Aug 20, 2015 4:32 PM UTC A YouTube [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZVX921Z0wc) uploaded by user “Jack Perkins” appears to show a lightning bolt striking a Delta plane as it sits on a runway. A description of the clip on the video-sharing network claims the footage was shot at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport: “While filming the line of planes all stacked up during a ground hold in Atlanta on 8/18/15 I happened to capture this direct lightning strike on a 737.” Here’s another view via CBS News: Lighting Strikes Delta Plane on Tuesday, 8/18 THU0030 [pic.twitter.com/zHzJDK0qlv](http://t.co/zHzJDK0qlv) — CBS Newspath (@cbsnewspath) [August 20, 2015](https://twitter.com/cbsnewspath/status/634244272104042497?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) [Atlanta’s NewsChannel 3 reports](http://www.wwmt.com/news/features/national/stories/Cell-phone-video-captures-lightning-hitting-plane-188070.shtml#.VdX8e1PF938) that the footage was captured by a man stuck on the runway while on a Minneapolis-bound flight and was sending his wife a video of the storm and the backed-up planes. (h/t [AJC.com](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZVX921Z0wc)) ## Transcript Where is the safest place sit on a plane? According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there is no safest seating area because survivability depends on the circumstances of the accident. That's true, but Time analyzed 17 accidents since 1980 and look at two key. Section of the plane, and row position. Here's what we found. The middle of the cabin historically has the highest overall a fatality rates. More specifically, the middle aisle seats, where the fatality rates are 57 % higher than the safest seat on the plane. Let's move to the back of the plane. You know, the seats closer to the bathrooms. Well according to our research, these are the safest of the aircraft, but it's not just the rear of the plane that's more secure. It's the middle seats in the back rows. The fatality rate here is 28 %, compared to 44 % up here. Now, for passengers who survived a plane's impact Having a seat closer to an emergency exit in case of say a fire is crucial. People who are positioned within one or two rows of the exit can evacuate quicker. [ MUSIC ] Keep in mind, our analysis is based on a small sample size. Since 1980 there have only been 17 flight accidents with both those who survived and who didn't And that had available seating charts. Most crashes only happen in the first three minutes and the last eight minutes of the flight. So keep your shoes on. Of all of the accidents that have happened in the last 30 years, the fatality rate is very low, only 4 %. The average person only has a one in 8000 chance of ever [ MUSIC ] Ever dying in a plane accident. 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