Airplane interior during a lightning strike.
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DRAMATIC video has captured the moment a passenger plane was struck by lightning, causing the cabin to be illuminated with a bright flash.

Panic erupted on board the Southwest jet, which was en-route to Denver, as travelers were heard screaming.

Airplane interior during a lightning strike.

The inside of the Southwest jet was shrouded in darkness before plane was hit by lightningCredit: KDVR
Airplane interior during a lightning strike.

The cabin was illuminated with a burst of lightCredit: KDVR

The cabin was in darkness in the seconds leading up to the lightning strike, as reported by the Fox affiliate KDVR-TV.

“Oh my God,” passengers were heard saying as the passenger plane shook.

Pablo Nuanes, a traveler on board the flight, said passengers were left startled. 

“It was very loud, very bright,” he told KDVR-TV.

Meanwhile, Mariah Martinez said passengers were wondering if the plane had been struck by lightning after the cabin illuminated.

The suspected lightning strike happened just as the plane was arriving in Denver. 

Denver was hit with thunderstorms on Sunday, forcing aviation chiefs to issue a ground stop. 

The ground stop was in effect for around an hour as a result of the weather.

The plane was delayed by more than two hours leaving Tampa, thus landing into Denver late.

Southwest Airlines chiefs revealed the Boeing 737 Max 8 twin-engine plane was taken out of service while officials investigate.

‘Security concern’ scrawled on plane bathroom mirror forces pilot to make U-turn mid-air with 340 passengers evacuated

“Our maintenance teams took the aircraft out of service for inspection,” spokesperson Laura Swift told the CBS affiliate KCNC-TV.

No travelers or cabin crew were injured following the air scare.

It comes just days after hundreds of passengers on Hawaiian Airlines jet were evacuated over a suspected bomb threat.

The pilot took swift action after a traveler was heard making a threat as the plane was leaving the gate at San Diego airport.

The plane was taken to another location on the airfield where it was searched. 

Armed cops were seen combing the plane as passengers waited in their seats. 

CLUSTER OF CRASHES

Earlier this month, two United Airlines planes collided before takeoff at San Francisco airport.

The right wingtip of a plane leaving a gate inadvertently struck the left wingtip of another plane. 

In April, two American Airlines planes collided at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Virginia.

The collision happened at the same airport where 67 people were killed in a crash involving an American Airlines plane and a military helicopter in January

Three people on board the Black Hawk military helicopter were killed, as were the 64 people on the passenger plane.

Just days after the air disaster that left the US aviation industry reeling, 10 people were killed in a crash off the coast of Alaska involving a small commuter plane.

And, a Delta jet flipped onto its roof when it smashed into a runway at Toronto Pearson airport in Canada.

Passengers recalled how they were left hanging like bats

Southwest Airlines plane taking off.

Southwest have confirmed there were no injuries (stock)Credit: Getty
Flight path from Denver (DEN) to Tampa (TPA) overlaid on a weather map.

The plane was heading to Denver, Colorado, when it was struck by lightningCredit: Flight Aware
Passengers disembarking from a crashed plane.

The air scare comes months after a Delta plane flipped onto its roof when it crashed onto the runway at Toronto Pearson airportCredit: Reuters
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