THE nose cone of a giant Airbus has been left ripped to shreds and with smashed up windows after the jet soared through a horrific hailstorm.
Shocking pictures show the devastating aftermath of the flight from hell as terrified passengers were left battling against the turbulence as objects on the plane were reportedly tossed around the cabin.
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The 23-year-old Airbus A320 was left in tatters on Sunday after it flew into a dangerous thunderstorm after weather radars were unable to pick it up.
Carnage unfolded for two minutes up at 19,685ft as the heroic pilot managed to send out a desperate mayday call.
As the plane sailed over Hartberg, Austria, it encountered a vicious hailstorm which left the pilot flying blind as they fought against the torrid conditions.
Those on board said they felt a disturbing amount of turbulence as the hailstorm struck the Austrian Airlines Airbus.
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Startled passengers said they could hear the loud sound of the weather smashing against the plane.
Chilling photos showed the aftermath of the nightmare flight as the front nose was ripped to shreds with the carbon fibre material flying away in transit.
The front windshields were covered in cracks with splintering glass dropping off the Airbus as several of its panels sustained heavy damage due to the storm.
Inside the plane, there were reports of loose objects being thrown across the cabin as the cabin crew were forced to calm down several terrified passengers.
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It took a further 20 minutes before the plane could safely land at Vienna Airport even with the smashed windows and destroyed parts.
No one on board was injured despite the chaos.
A passenger onboard the Airbus, Emmeley Oakley said: “I think we were about 20 minutes from landing when we got into a cloud of hail and thunderstorm, and the turbulence started.
“We could definitely feel the hail coming down on the plane and it was quite loud and of course super rocky for a minute.”
Passengers weren’t aware of the damaged nose or broken windshield until they left the plane.
Ambulances and emergency officials rushed to the plane as it landed to check on those inside.
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.”
How are planes are built to withstand bad weather?
WINGS
Wings on modern day passenger jets are built to be extremely bendy meaning they can withstand turbulence.
In testing, a jet will have its wings bent to nearly 90 degrees using specialist equipment to ensure they can bend if ever needed to.
They also face up to 1.5 times the load on the wings as well as rigorous tests to try and snap the wings to find their breaking point and therefore improve them.
WATER
Almost all planes are made to battle against watery conditions before they begin to take flights.
Tests include making them taxi through flood-level waters as well as steady, continuous rainfall and compacted ice.
WIND
Well trained pilots are the key to avoiding many air disasters and with windy conditions being common, a good pilot is ideal.
Regular flight simulator training puts pilots through their paces with all weather conditions but mainly in wind.
They practice take-offs and landings as well as how to fly through storms.
Planes are also placed through wind tunnels in training to test their maximum capabilities.
MATERIALS
Planes today are mainly made from a mixture of materials often including carbon fibre and aluminium.
Aluminium is able to dissipate electrical currents in the case of potential lightening strikes without causing damage.
As carbon fibre makes the jet generally lighter and allows it to burn through less fuel per flight.
REGULAR CHECKS
Most planes also undergo basic maintenance inspections every two days with engineers looking at the aircraft and doing simple tests to see if any repairs are needed.
More thorough inspections are completed every few years in order to keep the planes in top condition.
Miraculously, the plane was able to land safely as planned at the Vienna-Schwechat Airport.
The spokesperson continued: “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.”
It comes as another horror flight resulted in an American Airlines flight being trashed after it flew through a hailstrom.
The stormy Arizona-bound flight left 130 passengers crying and vomiting before it made an emergency landing in El Paso, Texas due to the shattered windscreens and burnt out nose.
One passenger on the flight named Ezra took to X to share his experience of the flight, saying: “Things were flying. Passengers throwing up. Scariest flight of my life.”
Turbulence on passenger planes can even be deadly at points due the mixture of bad weather and a highly stressful, scary situation.
Last month, a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 plane suddenly dropped out of the sky as “all hell broke loose” on board when it plunged nearly 180ft in just four seconds.
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A Brit granddad was killed due to the deadly turbulence as several others were left in hospital for weeks after the carnage.
Moments before the turbulence struck, the pilot was forced to navigate “explosive storms”.
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Source: Sun
