Emergency Landing Miracle: Hailstorm Damages Austrian Airlines Plane
Passengers screamed, phones fell, and cups flew on board an Austrian Airlines plane preparing to land at Vienna International Airport on Monday.
According to the British newspaper “Mirror,” the front of the plane was damaged due to severe hail after a flight from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, to Vienna.
As the plane was getting ready to land at Vienna International Airport, it encountered a severe hailstorm, leading to the shattering of the cockpit windows at an altitude of more than 5,000 meters.
The storm was not visible on the weather radar of the Airbus A320, which is located below the plane’s nose and was also destroyed by the hail within seconds.
One passenger recounted, “I think we were about 20 minutes from landing when we hit a cloud of hail and thunderstorms, and the turbulence started.”
He added, “We could hear the hailstones; it was incredibly loud and lasted for about a minute.”
Austrian Airlines reported that the damage to the windows forced the pilots to navigate the plane without visual reference, prompting them to declare an emergency. Despite this, they managed to make an emergency landing safely in Vienna using the automatic landing system.
Upon landing, emergency services rushed to evacuate the passengers and ensure their safety, confirming that no one was injured.
Initial estimates suggest that the plane sustained damage amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Austrian Airlines stated that it is not yet clear whether the damage to the aircraft’s body can be repaired.
