Miley Cyrus assures fans she’s safe after plane is struck by lightning

March 23, 2022 Stan

Miley Cyrus assured fans she’s safe and well after her private jet was struck by lightning during a flight to Paraguay on Tuesday, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing.

In a brief video of the incident shared by the star on her Instagram page, passengers could be heard gasping in shock as the fuselage were illuminated by lightning after being struck.

Shortly after, the ‘Wrecking Ball’ singer’s sister, Brandi Cyrus – who was on board at the time – shared her own take on the terrifying incident, tipping back a glass that appeared to contain an alcoholic beverage.

‘I’m going to try to not be dramatic but we almost died,’ she says, before adding: ‘Bottom’s up!’

The 29-year old singer and her entourage made the emergency landing after being caught in a violent storm while traveling from Bogota, Colombia, to the Paraguayan capital city of Asunción.

Cyrus was scheduled to play a festival there – a date she had to cancel as a result of the incident.

Terror: Sharing a brief video of the incident with Instagram followers, passengers could be heard gasping in shock as the fuselage were illuminated by lightning after being struck

All is well: Miley Cyrus has assured fans she’s safe and well after her plane was struck by lightning during a flight to Paraguay on Tuesday

Sharing a picture with her fans of where the lightning exactly hit her Gulfstream G450, Miley wrote: ‘We were unfortunately unable to fly into Paraguay. I LOVE YOU’

Captioning the clip, she wrote: ‘To my fans and everyone worried after hearing about my flight to Asunción. Our plane was caught in a major unexpected storm and struck by lighting.

‘My crew , band , friends and family who were all traveling with me are safe after an emergency landing. We were unfortunately unable to fly into Paraguay.’ ‘

Miley’s step-sister, Brandi, also posted a video on her Instagram story from inside the plane. In it, she says: ‘I’m going to try to not be dramatic but we almost died,’ while holding an alcoholic beverage to lower her stress levels.

During the turbulence, Miley’s older sister, Brandi, 34, posted a video to her Instagram story in which she says: ‘I’m going to try to not be dramatic but we almost died,’ tagging her friend Val Pina, a marketing, creative and communications consultant, in the post

Her friend, Val Pina, who is a marketing, creative and communications consultant, was sitting next to her in Miley’s Gulfstream G450. She said: ‘Literally almost died.’

‘We just landed in I don’t even know where, 200 miles away from where we’re supposed to land and because lightning struck the plane so bottoms up!,’ Brandi added.

‘Cheers,’ Val said, before bumping drinks.

The Gulfstream G450 has a capacity of 14 passenger seats and can hold two crew members in its cabin. It has a width of 7 ft (2.1 m), and a length of 45.1 ft (13.7 m). In Brandi’s Instagram video, the inside of Miley’s private jet has beige-colored leather seats, providing ultimate comfort for long trips, and a lot of legroom.

The G450 can also fly at a maximum speed of 674.4 miles per hour and a cruise speed of 547.7 miles per hour. A new model is valued between $38million to $43 million. A pre-owned one’s cost can be anywhere between the $14 million to $35 million range.

Meanwhile, Miley, whose net worth is estimated to be at $160 million, is currently travelling throughout South America with her Attention tour and last took to the stage during Lollapalooza Argentina at the San Isidro race track on March 19.

Safe and well: The singer shared an Instagram post after being forced to land while flying across South America during her Attention tour

Miley living the high life flying her private jet, a Gulfstream G450, in 2013. Her net worth is $160 million, while the cost for a new model plane is between $38million to $43 million

Busy girl: The singer is currently travelling South America with her Attention tour and last took to the stage during Lollapalooza Argentina at the San Isidro race track on March 19

Miley also performed during Lollapalooza Chile 2022 at Parque Bicentenario Cerrillos in Santiago.

The Plastic Hearts hitmaker co-headlined the annual event with rapper A$AP Rocky and DJ Alesso.

In a clip posted to Instagram, Miley expressed her enthusiasm for hitting the road again and appreciation for Chilean culture.

There she is: Miley also performed during Lollapalooza Chile 2022 at Parque Bicentenario Cerrillos in Santiago, Chile

She wrote: ‘I knew that these festivals were going to be extra special because I am so inspired by all of you and inspired by the culture, all of the color and the tradition. And I love … a culture that respects and honors everything that was before us.’

‘I see a lot of evolution also, I see a lot of Pride flags out here … I see a lot of cute boys with some makeup on, a little bit more makeup than me if that’s humanly possible.

‘I wanted to put together a show that, like you, honors every part of my history, my present and my future.’

What exactly happens when lightning strikes a plane?

Every commercial airplane in the U.S. is struck by lightning more than once each year although passengers and crew might not necessarily feel it due to lightning protection built into the plane and its body parts.

Thunder usually strikes the extremity of an aircraft, such as the nose or the tip of either of its wings, before the plane flies through it, causing an electric circuit between the cloudy area of opposite polarity.

The current will travel through the plane’s exterior conductive path and other parts of its outside area before exiting through some other extremity, whether that’s the tip, tail or wings. Pilots occasionally notice flickering of lights or half second malfunctions.

However, airplanes can also cause lightning by flying through cloudy zones in the sky. However, in these situations, the lightning flash stems from the plane and broadens in the aircraft’s opposite directions.

In contrast to large, commercial aircraft, smaller private airplanes tend to have a lower chance to be struck frequently due to their size and can avoid bad weather causing lighting strikes better.

The last time a commercial plane crashed in the U.S. due to lightning strike was in 1967, when thunderstruck led to a fuel tank explosion.

Since then, protection techniques have been created to avoid repetition. Before being used for the public, airplanes have to go through a series of rigorous lightning certification tests to securely check the safety of their designs.

Source: Scientific American