Hailstorm Batters China Southern Airlines Flight, Shattering Its Windshield and Puncturing Holes in Its Nose Cone

Chris Dolce
Published: July 11,2016

The smashed nosecone and windshield of the China Southern Airlines plane. (Credit: CCTV)

A China Southern Airlines flight was battered by a hailstorm over the weekend, causing significant damage to its nose cone and smashing the cockpit windshield.
After suffering the hail damage, the Airbus A320 landed safely in the central China city of Chengdu, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. The flight had originated from the Pacific Ocean coastal city of Guangzhou, the China Aviation Daily said.
The damaged windshield likely caused the pilots to have a restricted view of the runway as they landed the plane. It should be noted, however, that pilots can still rely on instruments to navigate as they would in darkness or when there is low visibility due to weather, such as fog.

The inside of the cockpit showing the smashed windshield. (Credit: CCTV)

Hail is one of many weather-related hazards that pilots can encounter. Others hazards include microbursts from thunderstorms, turbulence and icing.
The radome (nose cone) of the aircraft often takes the brunt of the hail damage in flight, but sometimes windshields are also severely shattered, according to Beth Krajewski of The Weather Company, an IBM business. As its name implies, radar is often found inside the radome.
There have been other recent examples of commercial aircraft suffering damage from hail while in flight.
Last August, a Delta Airlines plane made an emergency landing in Denver after encountering hail. Later that month the nose cone of an Alitalia airplane was punctured by hail and made an emergency landing in Naples, Italy.

Another view of the damaged China Southern Airlines plane. (Credit: CCTV)