These down drafts are commonly known as Micro bursts and has downed large airline planes in the past. Most thunderstorm related flying accidents in the past have been caused by gust fronts. Pilots have been flying with thunder activity around and being cautious make sure they get down before the big storm strikes. And even those that get it right by turning into wind get pummeled by the severe turbulence. Either way you do not want to be in these kind of positions.
Lightning is a bigger problem than pilots think.
So far we have been lucky in that generally we do not fly when thunderstorms are around and discharges usually occur at high altitudes. Thus most discharges are from cloud to cloud. Air craft have been hit but usually they have been flying at altitude. This said we all know about the lightning conductor theory. No not really.