C-130 Hercules - Nature's fireworks

Lightning strikes near the control tower and a taxing C-130 Hercules at Balad Air Base, Iraq, on Tuesday, May 16, 2006. Balad handles more than 750 cargo flights each month and is the Department of Defense’s busiest single runway. Using C-130s to fly in-theater airlift missions has reduced the number of ground convoys and troops exposed to roadside bomb attacks. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman James Croxon)