Southwest Airlines plane struck by lightning amid Memorial Day weekend storms
A Southwest Airlines plane flying into Denver, Colorado, on Sunday was struck by lightning upon its descent as storms plagued the area over Memorial Day weekend.
Southwest flight 168 was approaching Denver International Airport Sunday evening from Tampa when it was hit by a lightning strike, the media team for the airport said in a statement.
Emergency crews responded to the plane, which landed and made it to the gate safely, the airport said. No injuries were reported.
Southwest said it was "possible" lightning struck the plane and that the aircraft has been taken out of service so its maintenance teams can inspect it.
Video shared with NBC News from someone who was inside of the plane shows emergency vehicles responding to the aircraft once it was on the ground through windows streaked with raindrops.
The incident comes amid a stormy Memorial Day weekend in the region. On Sunday, Denver was one of many cities at risk for severe weather.
Destructive storms continued into the holiday Monday, impacting travelers in the south and central U.S.
More than 2,700 flights were delayed in the U.S. on Monday and dozens more were canceled, according to FlightAware.com. Dallas-Fort Worth has been most impacted by these travel woes.
Texas has faced days of thunderstorms and gusting winds, and forecasts show the severe weather in the state will continue into Tuesday.
Monday also marked the first Memorial Day that U.S. travelers needed a REAL ID or a passport to board their domestic flights. The long-awaited requirement went into effect earlier this month.
According to AAA, a record 45.1 Americans were expected to travel at least 50 miles from home during this long weekend's unofficial kickoff to summer, an increase of 1.4 million people from last year.
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