This is the terrifying moment a packed passenger plane is struck in mid-air by a bolt of lightning .

The Boeing 747 had left Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport as rain lashed down from ominous grey skies just before nightfall on January 2.

Moments into the ascent for the two hour 20 minutes flight to Sochi, a powerful bolt of lightning ripped down from the sky - striking the plane's carriage at around 2,000ft.


Storm chaser Julia Musina said: "It's pretty scary to see this from the ground. The people on the plane must have been really nervous if they noticed what had happened.

This is the terrifying moment a packed passenger plane is struck in mid-air by a bolt of lightning
The plane was struck by lightning as it left Moscow 

"The plane just carried on like nothing had affected it. It's not nice for nervous flyers, though. Take off is the scariest time.

"My friend recorded this and gave it to me to share. We follow the dramatic weather."

The plane landed at Sochi International Airport where ground staff checked the aircraft for damage.

This is the terrifying moment a packed passenger plane is struck in mid-air by a bolt of lightning
The night sky lit up as the plane was struck 

An airport spokesman said the pilots had both been interviewed and the vehicle was sent for a technical inspection.

They added: "On arrival at the destination airport at the post-flight inspection found traces of destruction of atmospheric electricity discharge."

This is the terrifying moment a packed passenger plane is struck in mid-air by a bolt of lightning
The lightning bolt struck through the centre of the plane 
This isn't the first time a plane has been struck by lightning in mid-air. In April last year passengers on an aircraft near Heathrow were left terrified after they got caught up in a thunderstorm on the way into London.
At least three planes were struck.
A British Airways pilot guided a flight into Heathrow safely after it was hit, and holidaymakers returning from Iceland on an Icelandair flight spoke of a "huge crack" as lightning hit the wing of their plane.
After landing charity worker Liz Dobson tweeted: "Plane just got hit by lightning on the descent into Heathrow. Didn't die #winning."
One month later, horrifying CCTV footage captured the moment a plane was struck by a massive bolt of lightning and set alight during a powerful electrical storm at an airport in China
The airliner was parked up at Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport, in China's eastern Guangdong Province, when the bolt struck
A split second after the thick bolt of lighting illuminates the sky in a glowing orange amid torrential rain, all four wheels of the jet are momentarily engulfed in flames.