Aircraft are prepared to withstand lightning strikes, as in most of the cases, the occurrence is self-triggered while flying through the clouds. Lightning strikes the aircraft at one extremity, passes through a section of its fuselage, and exits at another. When an aircraft is struck by lightning, the first step upon landing is to undergo a thorough inspection for damage to guarantee its airworthiness. It is a laborious and time-consuming process that takes many resources (personnel, time, money) to complete.
Before the next flight, the aircraft, independently of its type, is towed to a hangar and thoroughly inspected by aircraft engineers. Today, aircraft lightning strike inspection requires 2 to 3 aircraft engineers, operating heavy equipment such as gangways and cherry-pickers while looking for damages sometimes as small as a pencil tip. It also means that the aircraft remains unnecessarily grounded from 8 to 12 hours before deciding on its further operation. There is also a lot of pressure on working fast to avoid flight delays or cancellations, which can cost airlines more $ 2 billion per year.