An Austrian Airlines plane was badly damaged after being hit by a hailstorm during a flight. The jet hit a thunderstorm cell on Sunday resulting in significant damage to the plane during the flight.
The plane was carrying 173 passengers and six crew members was travelling to Vienna, Austria from Palma De Mallorca in Spain. The plane despite facing heavy turbulence fortunately landed safely in Vienna. A mayday emergency call was made during the flight.
The images emerging on social media show the nose of the jet completely damaged. The windscreen of the cockpit was severely damaged after being hit by the hails.
“Airbus A320 aircraft was damaged by hail on yesterday’s flight OS434 from Palma de Mallorca to Vienna. The aircraft was caught in a thunderstorm cell on approach to Vienna, which according to the cockpit crew was not visible on the weather radar,” Austrian Airlines said in a statement to CNN Monday.
“According to current information, the two front cockpit windows of the aircraft, the nose of the aircraft [the “radome”], and some paneling were damaged by the hail.”
This is another aviation-related incident reported within a few weeks. Earlier, a Qatar Airlines flight faced heavy turbulence in midair. The flight after facing severe turbulence managed to land safely.
Read more: Shaken passengers arrive in Singapore after deadly turbulence-stricken flight
Before that, Singapore Airlines faced tragic turbulence in midair from London to Singapore, leaving several passengers and crew members severely injured. A 73-year-old passenger died in the incident. The airline was diverted to Myanmar. More than a hundred people were treated in a hospital in Bangkok. Early investigations revealed that the plane accelerated rapidly up and down and dropped around 178 ft (54m) in 4.6 seconds.
Now the Singaporean Airline have announced to give $10,000 to the passengers who suffered minor injuries and $25,000 to passengers severely injured in a Facebook post.