A plane full of passengers suffered heavy damage to its windshield and nose when it descended through hail. The Austrian Airlines flight was flying into Vienna when it came across a thunderstorm not shown on its weather radar, causing it to run into trouble. As the plane’s visibility worsened, the pilot sent out a mayday as they continued flying the plane blind at around 19,685ft over Hartberg, Austria, last night.
Loose objects in the cabin were reportedly thrown around and the cabin crew had to calm several terrified passengers as the hail battered the flight. Despite the danger, the pilot finally managed to land the plane safely. As the passengers disembarked they were shocked to see the damage to both windshields, the nose, as well as several panels.
Despite the scare, no one on board was injured on the plane which had earlier taken off from Palma, Majorca. An Austrian Airlines spokesperson said: "On flight OS434 from Palma de Mallorca to Vienna, an Airbus A320 aircraft was damaged by hail. The aircraft encountered a thunderstorm cell on approach to Vienna, which the cockpit crew said was not visible on the weather radar.
"According to current information, the two front cockpit windows of the aircraft, the nose of the aircraft and some panels were damaged by the hail. The aircraft was able to land safely at Vienna-Schwechat Airport. All passengers on the flight were uninjured.
The Austrian Airlines technical team has already been entrusted with the specific damage asses.
