--- --- # See the Shocking Moment Lightning Hits a Plane ## 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)) Video Appears to Catch Lightning as it Strikes Delta Plane ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4004954/delta-plane-lightning-strike/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4004954/delta-plane-lightning-strike/"},"headline":"See the Shocking Moment Lightning Hits a Plane","datePublished":"2015-08-20T16:32:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:48:14.116Z","description":"Don't watch this video if you are afraid of flying (or lightning)","url":"https://time.com/4004954/delta-plane-lightning-strike/","keywords":["Newsfeed","society","nature"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4004954/delta-plane-lightning-strike/","name":"See the Shocking Moment Lightning Hits a Plane"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"What is the safest place to sit on a plane?","description":"Where you should sit next time you get onboard","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/bJ6pkbGM/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-24T19:59:50.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bJ6pkbGM.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4004954/delta-plane-lightning-strike/","duration":"PT1M50S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4004954/delta-plane-lightning-strike/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```