Huge fright in mid-flight: a hailstorm tears off the nose of an Airbus A320 flying from Palma de Mallorca to Vienna

Une partie du nez de l’Airbus A320 a été arrachée Capture d'écran Twitter – @aviationbrk

Le vol de la compagnie Austrian Airlines, reliant Palma de Majorque en Espagne à Vienne en Autriche, a été pris dans un orage de grêle ce dimanche 9 juin 2024.

An Australian Airlines plane was caught in a hailstorm this Sunday, June 9, 2024, the Austrian company announced to ABC News, the American television network. The airbus which linked Palam de Mallorca in Spain to Vienna in Austria was heavily damaged.

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 hail caused significant damage to the cockpit windows and windshields. Part of the nose of the Airbus A320 was torn off. 180 passengers were on board for this trip which normally lasts two hours.

"It’was very loud"

"We could feel the hail hitting the plane, it’was very strong and of course very rocky for a minute’ ;quot;, a passenger tells ABC News via message, quoted by BFMTV. Phones and cups were thrown into the plane as the storm passed.

The plane finally managed to land correctly at Vienna-Schwechat airport and no casualties or injuries were reported. Operations to assess damage to the aircraft are underway.

The storm could not be anticipated because it was not visible to onboard weather radars.