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Mother Nature isn’t always kind and one Airbus A320 got the brunt of her rage during a recent hailstorm. Austrian Airlines flight OS434 sustained damage to the nose cone and cockpit windows while traveling from Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI) to Vienna International Airport (VIE) yesterday.
Austrian Airlines A320 severely damaged by a hailstorm while on approach to Vienna Airport in Austria. Despite the damage to the aircraft's nose and windscreen the pilots landed safely. pic.twitter.com/AIa7aL9HEQ
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) June 9, 2024
The aircraft with 173 passengers and six crew landed safely in Vienna, but not before going through a “thunderstorm cell.” A mayday call was made while in flight, but the pilots managed to make it to their final destination without needing to divert or sustaining any injuries on board.
Austrian Airlines released a statement that reads:
On [yesterday’s] 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 (radome) 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 assessment of the aircraft in question. The safety of our passengers and our crews is Austrian Airlines’ top priority.”
The aircraft is grounded while it’s being assessed for damage and repaired.
Anthony’s Take: The weather can be dangerous and thankfully skilled pilots like these know how to handle it and got this aircraft safely to Vienna. As always, your best bet on board is to stay buckled up whenever you’re seated.”
(Featured Image Credit: @aviationbrk via X.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
1 comment
WOW! That is scary!