BRUCE BARTHOLOMEW, SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BULLETIN Workers inspect the outside of Hawaiian Airlines Flight 20 from Honolulu to Sacramento yesterday afternoon after it turned back after being struck by lightning. An airline spokeman said the plane received "very minor skin damage that's being repaired." There were no injuries.

Lightning hits 2 flights
out of Honolulu

Both planes return with no
serious damage or injuries

Lightning struck two airplanes departing Honolulu Airport within an hour of one another yesterday afternoon.

A bolt of lightning struck the aircraft nose of Hawaiian Airlines Flight 20 bound for Sacramento about 10 minutes into the 1:32 p.m. flight, said Scott Ishikawa, Transportation Department spokesman.

About an hour later, lightning hit Aloha Airlines Flight 270 with 119 people on board. The plane departed Honolulu at 2:25 p.m. for Kona and was struck about five to 10 minutes into the flight. It also returned to Honolulu Airport.

California visitor Bruce Bartholomew, who was seated in the middle of a Hawaiian Airlines plane, said: "It sounded like a big bang. The flash lit up the whole cabin for a second."

The loud sound immediately woke his wife, seated next to him.

The pilot turned the Boeing 767 around and landed safely in Honolulu. None of the 274 passengers and crew was injured.

"It was pretty dramatic," said passenger Matt Bowden of Honolulu. "When we landed, the whole plane started cheering. The runway was lined with fire trucks and were following alongside us. All the employees stopped working and started cheering for us."

Honolulu Airport's control tower reported storm clouds above the Kaiwi Channel, Ishikawa said.

No flights had been suspended by the airlines yesterday because of the bad weather.

"Lightning strikes are not uncommon in our industry, but airplanes are built to withstand them, and in my experience they've never led to any serious damage," said Hawaiian Airlines spokesman Keoni Wagner.

The Hawaiian plane received "very minor skin damage that's being repaired," Wagner said.

No damage was reported to the Aloha plane, said spokesman Stu Glauberman.

Bowden said the Hawaiian flight crew attendant first announced that the loud noise was thunder. He said he knew they were in trouble when he saw the flight attendant's face.

"A couple minutes later, the captain came on and said they would be returning to Honolulu because we had been struck by lightning," he said.

Bowden, traveling alone, was seated in first class "right by where the bolt struck the plane," he said. "If the plane had a forehead, that's where it would have been.

He said there was no crying, but "it was very, very tense.

"When we landed, the whole plane broke into applause," he said. "They were just grateful, like myself, to be down on the ground."

"The thing that came to my mind was, you're more likely to get hit by lightning than be in an airplane crash," said Bowden. "So I'm really wondering whether this trip was worth it or not."

He was traveling to attend a personal development seminar in California.

The Hawaiian flight passengers waited as airline crew inspected the aircraft.

Eventually the flight was rescheduled for a 10:10 p.m. departure on a different aircraft. Meanwhile, the airlines bused passengers to a Waikiki restaurant for dinner.

The Aloha flight passengers were accommodated on the next flight to Kona, Glauberman said

Bowden said the experience led to an epiphany.

"The dear Lord's watching over me," he said. "I've always been a believer, not always the best at practicing. Bottom line is just to be grateful and thankful. First thing I did: Thank him."