Scientists explain how everyone on board was unharmed.
An airline passenger flying over Paris recorded the startling moment lightning suddenly struck his plane.
Watch: What a Shocker: Man Nearly Struck by Lightning as He Live Streams Thunderstorm
Passenger Mitchell Stewart was recording his plane cutting through the clouds when lightning struck the wing. The bolt of electricity could be seen shooting out like a laser into the sky.
The Science Channel’s Outrageous Acts of Science premiere will delve into how and why the lightning appeared this way. The show features mind-blowing viral videos and a team of experts explaining the science behind them.
Materials chemist Sujata Kundu said on the show: “Lightning strikes occur when there is a build-up of charge inside a cloud and on another surface such as the ground or this airplane wing.
"This actually happens — surprisingly — quite regularly, which is why planes are built with a metal framework around them. It is capable of conducting up to 200,000 amps of current without the plane getting damaged.”
But due to the build of the plane and the amps it conducts, passengers didn't feel a thing.
Read: Plane Makes Emergency Landing After Lightning Strike: 'It Was Like Being Hit By a Missile'
Astrophysicist Hakeem Olyseyi explained why the lightning darted horizontal and not straight down.
“The glowing air, which has been ripped apart by the lightning strike, has been left behind as the airplane flies forward,” he explained.
Outrageous Acts of Science premieres October 26 at 9/8c p.m.
Watch: Gone in an Instant: More Than 300 Deer Killed in Freak Lightning Storm
