Flybe plane travelling to Jersey hit by lightning

The plane was struck as it was flying between Guernsey and Jersey

Passengers described hearing a "massive bang" and seeing a "bright flash" when a plane was struck by lightning.

Flybe flight B300 had just left the Channel Island of Guernsey and was en route to Jersey when it was struck.

Flybe confirmed the service returned to Exeter Airport, where the flight had started, as a "precautionary measure", and all passengers safely disembarked.

Alan O Rafferty, who was on the flight, said "everybody was screaming" as the plane "lit up".

"Everyone on the whole plane was shaken up," he added.

A spokesman for the airline said: "Flybe can confirm that the above flight experienced a lightning strike en route between Guernsey and Jersey this morning.

"As a precautionary measure the captain elected to return to Exeter so that the aircraft could be thoroughly inspected in the Exeter hangars by its engineers."

"Flybe's engineers have since confirmed that the aircraft sustained no damage during the incident," the spokesman said, adding that arrangements had been made to allow passengers to continue their journeys.

It comes as Storm Ciara batters the UK and the Channel Islands.