Air New Zealand spokeswoman Hannah Searle said the ATR turboprop aircraft from Christchurch ''encountered a lightning strike'' as it descended towards Dunedin Airport.
The return flight NZ5750 from Dunedin to Christchurch had been delayed as the plane underwent an engineering inspection, Ms Searle said.
"Lightning strikes are not uncommon and aircraft are designed with this in mind.''
Otago Volts co-captain Jacob Duffy said it was a pretty scary flight into Dunedin.
"She was an interesting flight home. Coming into Dunedin was particularly nasty," he said.
As for the plane being hit by lightning, Duffy said it was not recognised by passengers.
He said there was a white flash but nothing was felt on the plane and passengers did not say anything.
The Volts defeated Canterbury by four wickets yesterday at the Hagley Oval, in round nine of the Ford Trophy.
