A FALCON 2000 FLT CREW DECLARED AN EMER WITH A DIVERSION TO A NEARBY ARPT FOLLOWING A SUDDEN JOLT AND THE SMELL OF SMOKE THROUGHOUT THE CABIN. MAINT SUSPECTS A LIGHTNING STRIKE.

Narrative

OUR FALCON 2000 DEPARTED ZZZ1 FOR ZZZ2 AS AN APCHING TSTM LINE WAS HEADING TO THE NE. TSTMS COVERED A LARGE AREA ALONG OUR RTE OF FLT. I CALLED FSS TO CHANGE OUR RTE OF FLT TO CLOSELY MIRROR OUR ARR RTE WHICH WAS A SMOOTH RIDE. THIS ADDED CLOSE TO 45 MINS TO THE FLT. A STATIC TKOF WAS PERFORMED AND CLBOUT WAS UNEVENTFUL. PASSING FL280; THERE WAS A SUDDEN JOLT UNLIKE TURB. BOTH WING AND ENG ANTI-ICE HAD BEEN OPERATING SINCE 14000 FT. THE NEAREST DETECTABLE WX WAS ABOUT 40 MI OFF THE L WING. WE WERE PASSING THROUGH SOME CLOUDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SYS BUT NONE WITH ANY SIGNIFICANT VERT DEVELOPMENT. IN THE SECONDS AFTER THE JOLT; BOTH THE PAX AND THE CREW NOTICED A SMELL OF SMOKE IN THE COCKPIT AND CABIN. THE SMELL GOT WORSE TO THE POINT I EXPECTED VISIBLE SMOKE AT ANY TIME. THE OTHER CO-CAPT; WHO WAS OPERATING IN THE L SEAT; CALLED FOR AN EMER. I AGREED AND DECLARED AN EMER WITH CTR AND ADVISED THEM THAT WE WOULD BE LNDG AT ZZZ3 WHICH WAS ABOUT 40 MI STRAIGHT AHEAD ON THE CURRENT FLT PATH. AT THE SAME TIME OUR FLT ATTENDANT APCHED THE COCKPIT AND RPTED THE SMELL FROM THE CABIN. I TOLD THE FLT ATTENDANT THAT WE HAD ABOUT 10 MINS UNTIL LNDG AND TO PREPARE THE CABIN. THE SMELL HAD LASTED APPROX 60 SECONDS AND TOTALLY DISSIPATED BY THE TIME WE LANDED. BEFORE LNDG; THE PAX WERE TOLD THAT NOTHING ABNORMAL WAS CURRENTLY OCCURRING WITH THE AIRPLANE. I DID MENTION THE POSSIBILITY OF A BLOWN TIRE ON LNDG. WE CALLED FOR THE FIRE TRUCKS; WHICH MET US ON THE RWY. A NORMAL LNDG AND ROLLOUT FOLLOWED. MAINT FOUND BURN MARKS AND DISCOLORATION ON 3 FAN BLADES. MAINT SEEMS TO BE LEANING THE DIRECTION OF A POSSIBLE LIGHTNING STRIKE. I DON'T THINK ANYTHING NEEDED TO BE DONE DIFFERENTLY; JUST A WEIRD CASE OF BEING IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME. I DON'T REALLY BELIEVE WE WERE CLOSE ENOUGH FOR A LIGHTNING STRIKE; BUT WEIRD THINGS CAN HAPPEN.