This is the terrifying moment a packed passenger plane is struck in mid-air by a bolt of lightning .

The Boeing 747 had left Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport as rain lashed down from ominous grey skies just before nightfall. Moments into the ascent for the two hour 20 minutes flight to Sochi, a powerful bolt of lightning ripped down from the sky – striking the plane’s carriage at around 2,000ft. Storm chaser Julia Musina said: “It’s pretty scary to see this from the ground. The people on the plane must have been really nervous if they noticed what had happened.