Turkish Airlines pilots on board an Istanbul-bound plane recorded a rare atmospheric phenomenon known as St. Elmo's Fire, as they tackled strong thunder clouds at 40,000 feet.

According to reports, the incident took place on the Airbus 330 type aircraft which departed from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The moments St. Elmo's Fire ripped through the plane were recorded by pilot Emre Çıngar, who uploaded the video to his social media accounts.

St. Elmo's Fire, which is a type of a continuous electric spark occurs during thunderstorms when the ground below is electrically charged and there is high voltage in the air between the cloud and the ground.

Flights have devices created to reduce the accumulation of electrical charge.