By IANS,
Auckland : A Qantas flight – with 144 people on board – from Auckland to Melbourne was forced to turn back after it was hit by lightning Wednesday, the New Zealand Press Association reported.
The crew of the Boeing 737 did not declare any emergency and the plane landed safely at Auckland at about 2.30 p.m.
TVNZ reported that the cabin was filled with smoke, but no injuries were reported.
Qantas said it was not known whether there was any damage to the aircraft, but that it returned to Auckland as a precaution.
The aircraft was the third to make an unscheduled landing in New Zealand this week. Two Air New Zealand domestic flights were forced to make emergency landings with engine faults Sunday.
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