A passenger has told of the frightening moment lightning hit an aircraft as it approached Bermuda.

The Air Canada flight was struck by a bolt of lightning as it made its descent into the Island during heavy weather, but was undamaged and made it safely onto the runway.

The traveller, who did not wish to be named, recalled the instant the strike hit -- jerking the fully-loaded aircraft forward.

"There was an enormous flash that we could see through the window,'' she said. "It was very bright and the plane jolted forward -- it was very scary for a second. We carried on but everybody was aware we had been hit by lightning.'' The woman said the light was seen by everyone and was so bright it appeared fluorescent outside the cabin windows.

There was turbulence during the flight and all the passengers were belted in at the time.

Flight AC 942, with a full complement of 131 passengers on board, was between 15 and 20 minutes from the Island at around noon on Tuesday, when the strike occurred.

It landed without further problems, but was then hit by another incident on the runway as it prepared for the return trip to Toronto.

Following heavy rain, water got into the nose-wheel of the aircraft, damaging the steering gear and rendering it unserviceable.

The 101 passengers had to disembark the plane and wait for a replacement aircraft to be sent. They finally arrived in Toronto in the early hours of yesterday -- ten hours and 20 minutes late.

Air Canada spokesman Nicole Couture-Simard said the lightning strike was a rare occurrence but did not affect the aircraft in any way.

"The aircraft are equipped with lightning conductors. The strike did not cripple the aircraft, it was capable of performing a landing,'' she said.