passengers doze on a long haul flight from Tokyo to LA. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning cleaves the air. Those startled by the flash will soon settle back into their dreams. But on the other side of the world, in Derby in England, engineers at RR get busy. Lightning strikes on jets are common and usually harmless, but this one has caused a cough in one of the engines. The aircraft will land safely and could do so even with the engind shut down. The question is whether it will need a full engine inspection in LA, which would be normal practice but inconvenience hundreds of passengers waiting in the departure lounge.