- A United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, to London turned around on New Year's Eve.
- The plane's crew reported a lightning strike, the FAA said.
- A United spokesperson said passengers got overnight accommodations in Boston.
United Airlines passengers unexpectedly celebrated the new year in Boston after their transatlantic flight turned around.
Flightradar24 shows that the Boeing 767 was about an hour into its journey from Newark, New Jersey, to London when it made a U-turn off the coast of Maine.
Flight UA16's crew had reported a lightning strike, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The 100 passengers and 10 crew were initially set to welcome in 2025 in the air, with the flight scheduled to land in London at about 9 a.m. local time.
But the FAA said the plane "safely diverted" to Boston shortly before 11 p.m. ET.
A United Airlines spokesperson told Business Insider that emergency crews briefly inspected the Boeing 767 upon landing and there were no reported injuries.
"We got customers to their final destination the next day," they added.
The same aircraft departed Boston at about 7 p.m. ET on New Year's Day — landing in London 22 hours later than originally scheduled, per Flightradar24.
The FAA said it would investigate the incident.
The National Weather Service says airliners are struck by lightning about once or twice a year on average.
It also says jets avoid thunderstorms as much as possible. They can trigger strikes because their presence enhances the electric fields found in storms.
Commercial jets are designed with several parts to help mitigate the impact of lightning, such as a metal mesh that conducts electricity away from passengers and internal electronics.
At least two other planes have been struck by lightning in the past year: a Delta Air Lines flight in April and an Air Canada Boeing 777 in March. Both continued to their destinations before being inspected.