By AsiaOne

A Qantas Airbus A330-300 operating the QF72 flight from Singapore to Perth was struck by lighting just minutes after takeoff, Australian paper WA Today reported.

A spokesman for the airline was reported to have said that the incident did not present any safety issue to the plane or its passengers.

Passenger Neville Fitzpartick, who was returning to Australia from a two-week trip to Russia told news website PerthNow that he saw "an orange stripe" run along the wing and side of the plane as lightning hit the aircraft during a tropical storm.

PerthNow reported Mr Fitzpatrick saying that the plane was not affected by the strike, though the captain did inform passengers that the aircraft had been struck by lightning.

The plane had left Singapore in "heay rain and heavy cloud" according to Mr Fitzpatrick's account on PerthNow.

The passenger, who was sitting in first class with his wife said that the lightning struck "a minute or so" after the plane had taken off.

The flight was otherwise uneventful.

According to WA Today, Qantas said that the aircraft will be inspected by engineers after landing, and that "it is too soon to say if any maintenance will be required."

The return flight from Perth to Singapore was also delayed by two and a half hours for checks. Passengers on board the flight will be presented with refreshment vouchers, WA Today reported.

This is the second time in a month that a Qantas plane was struck by lightning. A July 10 flight from Perth to Melbourne was cancelled after the aircraft, travelling from Sydney to Perth, was hit by lightning just before landing.

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