Video taken by a planespotter in Canada shows the moment a Boeing 777 was hit by lightning just after takeoff

• A Boeing 777 was struck by lightning while taking off from Vancouver International Airport.
• A planespotter caught the incredible sight on video.

Most airliners are struck by lightning at least once a year, according to the National Weather Service. It's less common that such an incident is caught on video.

Ethan West told CBC News he was planespotting at Vancouver International Airport on Sunday when he saw one of his favorite aircraft: a Boeing 777-300ER.

Shortly after he started filming the Air Canada jet taking off, it was struck by lightning.

A spokesperson for Air Canada confirmed to CBC News that a plane departing Vancouver was hit by lightning on Sunday.

It continued its 10-hour journey to London Heathrow Airport and landed safely before being inspected, they added.

Planes that are suspected to be hit by lightning have to undergo a mandatory inspection which can end up delaying flights.

The National Weather Service says jets avoid thunderstorms as much as possible because they actually often cause the strike: "Their presence enhances the ambient electric fields typical for thunderstorms and facilitates electrical breakdown through air."

Commercial jets are designed with several protections to mitigate the impact of a lightning strike, such as an additional layer of protection that conducts the electricity away from passengers and internal electronics.

Sometimes it can still damage the fuselage, as in the case of an American Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner last year, per View From the Wing.