B.C. helicopter flight lands safely after being hit by lightning, Helijet says

A commercial helicopter with 14 people on board landed safely in Victoria on Tuesday after it was hit by lightning.

Rick Hill, the vice-president of operator Helijet, said the aircraft was at about 1,200 metres above sea level when the lightning strike happened.

The two pilots took the chopper down to below the clouds and then landed without trouble in Victoria a few minutes later.

Hill said such an event is very rare and has only happened twice in his 36 years of experience.

He said there were no injuries, although he's sure that such an incident would certainly shake up those on board.

Helijet president and CEO Daniel Sitnam told CHEK News said the helicopter was on a scheduled flight that had left  downtown Vancouver at 9:11 a.m. PT bound for Victoria.

"About 20 minutes later, at about 4,000 feet [1,200 metres] above sea level, on a typical flight path that we take, the crew noted and reported that they heard a very loud bang and simultaneously a white, bright light," said Sitnam, who added that the whole cockpit, including the pilots' instrumentation, went black.

Hill said there was some damage to the aircraft, including the tail rotor, but the two pilots expertly handled the situation.

"I think they really did a fabulous job and relied on that training and were able to safely bring everybody to their destination,'' said Hill.

Hill said staff on the ground spoke to passengers to ensure no one was hurt.

The damaged chopper is now grounded. The pilots will be debriefed and given some time to process this event, he said.

Hill said the company is working with the Transportation Safety Board to determine what happened and assess the damage to the helicopter.