Delta passengers may not have noticed lightning strike

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Passengers on Delta Flight 284 may not have initially realized that their descent Saturday into Los Angeles International Airport was interrupted by a lightning strike.

Delta spokesman Anthony Black said there were no reports of passengers asking about lightning hitting the Airbus A330-200 -- meaning they either didn’t feel any turbulence or didn’t say anything to the plane’s crew.

No one was injured, authorities said. Planes are designed to withstand lightning strikes, which are ‘extremely rare,’ Black said.

The plane had been scheduled to complete its 10-hour, 15-minute journey from Tokyo to LAX at 8:45 a.m. It was struck as it dipped over Santa Monica, and pulled up to the terminal about 8:10, authorities said.

The lightning was generated by a storm system that has pummeled Southern California. Rain is expected through late Saturday, the National Weather Service said, slickening roads, stirring up surf and dousing the Grapevine and Tejon Pass with snow.

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-- Ashley Powers