‘I legit thought one of the engines blew’: One bizarre airplane incident has nervous flyers rethinking their next vacation plans

A recent flight from Buffalo, New York to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, turned into a terrifying ordeal for passengers when their plane was struck by lightning, prompting one TikTok user to share her harrowing experience, which got picked up by BroBible. This incident has some nervous flyers reconsidering their next vacation plans.

It’s no secret that flying can make people a little antsy; around 40% of us get some level of anxiety just thinking about air travel. This is pretty wild when you consider that flying is actually incredibly safe, way safer than driving, in fact. Statistically speaking, you’d have to hop on a plane every single day for over 10,000 years before you’d be caught in a fatal crash.

Even with those reassuring numbers, it’s tough to shake off the worry when you hear about in-flight incidents. Now, a TikTok user named Natalie Longo, known as @natalieelongo, has a story that’s probably going to add to those nervous flyers’ jitters.

The TikToker recounted a recent flight where her plane was hit directly by lightning

Longo explained that as she boarded her flight, the crew gave them a heads-up, saying the first 15 minutes would be “pretty rough.” She didn’t think much of it at the time, just figuring it would be some typical turbulence. However, things quickly escalated from there.

As the plane took off early in the morning, Longo could see thunderstorms swirling around them. While the aircraft was still climbing, she claims lightning hit the plane directly. This was a full-on strike that shook the entire aircraft and the impact was immediate and incredibly intense.

Longo said, “I didn’t realize what happened at first. I didn’t know if, like, the engine blew or something because it got struck. It lit up, and then it was like the loudest boom ever.” She genuinely thought one of the engines had exploded, believing they were either headed for an emergency landing or worse. In that terrifying moment, she started praying and texting her parents, telling them she loved them, unsure if the plane was going down or if this was somehow “normal.”

Thankfully, the skilled pilots managed to get the plane out of the storm and above the clouds. Longo described a huge sense of relief, saying, “As soon as we got above the clouds and I could see the sunrise, I’ve literally never been happier.” She expressed immense gratitude for the pilots, who safely got them to Florida.

While Longo’s experience sounds absolutely terrifying, a plane getting struck by lightning is actually not too uncommon and surprisingly low-risk. Airbus, a major aircraft manufacturer, estimates that every plane in active service gets hit by lightning about once a year. This might sound wild, but the impact on the plane is usually minimal.

Airplanes are engineered to handle lightning strikes, directing the electrical current around the plane’s surface to prevent serious damage. Plus, all the critical systems have multiple layers of protection through redundancy, shielding, and isolation. So, usually, lightning strikes only cause minor surface damage.

Longo’s video clearly resonated with a lot of people. The comments section was full of users sharing their fears. One commenter declared, “New fear unlocked,” which is totally understandable given the circumstances. Another person shared their own childhood trauma from a minivan lightning strike, saying, “I can’t imagine being in an airplane freaking MIDAIR and that happening lol.”

However, not everyone found it completely terrifying. Some viewers pointed out that Longo’s experience actually shows just how safe flying is, even when things go wrong. One user wrote that seeing people survive “the CRAZIEST things they’ve gone thru on planes and have lived to post it lmao” actually helps cure their fear of flying.