'Lightning Lab' tests aim to make modern planes safer
18 July 2012 Last updated at 06:10 BST
On average, every single airliner is hit by lightning once a year.
Modern, metal planes are built to carry on perfectly safely even if they are struck but the very latest airliners are now being made of carbon fibre, which can be very badly damaged by lightning.
So how are aeroplane designers making them safe to fly?
BBC Transport Correspondent Richard Westcott was given exclusive access to the Airbus "Lightning Lab" based at Cardiff University.