An Austrian Airlines flight travelling from Palma de Mallorca, Spain to Vienna, Austria (flight OS434) sustained significant hail damage during its approach on Sunday. The airline reported the aircraft encountered a severe thunderstorm cell, resulting in damage to the cockpit windows, exterior coverings, and notably, the nose cone.
"I think we were about 20 minutes from landing when we got into a cloud of hail and thunderstorm, and the turbulence started," Emmeley Oakley, a passenger on the flight, told ABC News.
Passengers onboard, including Oakley, described hearing the hail strike the aeroplane.
"We could definitely feel the hail coming down on the plane and it was quite loud and ofc super rocky for a minute," Oakley wrote.
Due to a severe hailstorm, the cockpit crew issued a Mayday call. Passenger Emmeley Oakley described the hail impacting the aircraft for approximately two minutes, causing turbulence and loose objects to become airborne within the cabin. Ms Oakley further reported that some passengers became distressed, and the flight attendants responded promptly to ensure cabin safety.
"The cabin crew did a really good job calming those people down though," Oakley wrote.
Despite severe hailstorm, the plane landed safely at Vienna-Schwechat Airport, with no passengers harmed, Austrian Airlines told the media outlet.
"It was a pretty uneventful flight for 90% of the trip," Oakley said.
The Austrian Airlines' technical team is currently inspecting the damage.
"It wasn't until we exited that we saw the nose was missing! The pilots really did an excellent job keeping things as smooth and safe as they could," Oakley said.
