An Austrian aircraft has been seriously damaged after flying into a hail storm. Pictures show that half of the plane’s nose has been torn off, and that the glass in the cockpit window is cracked.
“The aircraft was caught in a thunderstorm cell, which according to the flight crew was not visible on the weather radar,” Austrian Airlines said in a statement.
An Austrian airliner made an emergency landing in Vienna after flying into a hailstorm on Monday.
The plane, which was an Airbus A320 model, was on its way from Palma de Mallorca in Spain to Vienna in Austria when it was damaged by a severe hailstorm about 150 kilometers southwest of Vienna.
Pictures of the damaged plane show that half of the nose cone has been torn away, and that the cockpit window is cracked. According to several media, a lot of panels have also been damaged in connection with the hail.
“Wasn’t visible on the radar”
“The aircraft was caught in a thunderstorm cell on approach to Vienna, which according to the flight crew was not visible on the weather radar,” Austrian Airlines said in a statement to CNN on Monday.
174 passengers and six crew were on board the plane.
Despite turbulence and extensive damage combined with poor visibility, the plane managed to land safely at Vienna International Airport.
No one is said to have been seriously injured in connection with the incident, which occurred at an altitude of approximately 6,000 meters.