Austrian Airlines: Flight from Mallorca miraculously lands despite being destroyed by hailstones mid-air with windscreen smashed

An Austrian Airlines flight miraculously landed on Sunday (9 June) despite hailstones destroying the front of the plane and smashing the cockpit windscreen. The Airbus A320 was flying from Mallorca to Vienna when chunks of ice slammed into the plane and its front windows with the pilot forcing to land the aircraft blind.

Passengers only realised the true extent of the damage after the plane touched down. The flight took off from Palma, Mallorca at around 3.30pm on Sunday with only minor turbulence at the beginning, but the Daily Mail reports that according to the airline, the plane flew through a 'thunderstorm cell' as it approached Vienna and around half an hour before it was due to land.

Pictures of the aircraft show the windscreen shattered and the nose of the plane almost totally missing. Austrian Airlines confirmed the incident on Sunday evening.

The airline told Austria's Kronen Zeitung newspaper: “On today's flight OS434 from Palma de Mallorca to Vienna, an Airbus A320 aircraft was damaged by hail. 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 unharmed.

“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.”

Austrian Airlines said a Mayday call was made and emergency crews rushed to the airport ahead of the aircraft landing. Miraculously, the pilot was able to land the plane.