Getting struck by sparks is a weekly event here in monsoon country in the Wet. The books are full of AVOID! AVOID! AVOID! but in real life its only 60% of the time you can dodge and weave sucessfuly. The other 40% is having to plow through it regardless.
The 2 aircraft Ive been electrically hit in regularly are the 747 and 737. In the 747 its been the tailfin/wings/D1L. In the 737 its ALWAYS been just under my sliding window!
Lightning packs a huge voltage but buggerall amps. Thus airframe damage tends to be minor but noticeable. But this reassuring model went tits up one night enroute to Bangkok when a bolt struck my radome and blew half of it to bits!
But genarally I found lightning strikes affects radio com/nav equipment. The ADFs in both types may play up and a genny might get knocked off line. Almost always youve lost one HF set. You lose the VOR if the bolt strikes the antenna square on.
All strikes Ive encountered have always been below 30000 feet.
Lightning strikes should be reported on arrival and entered in the tech log.
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Slasher. Lightning magnet.