Hail Batters Jumbo Jet; Ukrainian Pilot Forced into Blind Landing

Eric Chaney
Published: August 1,2017
A Ukranian pilot is being hailed as a hero after being “hailed” mid flight last week.
Capt. Alexander Akopov had just left Istanbul for Erkan, Cyprus, with 127 passengers on board an Airbus A320 operated by AtlasGlobal when a surprise hail storm hit at over 4,000 feet, the UK telegraph reports.
The aircraft’s nose and windshield were pummelled by hailstones the size of golf balls, Fox reports, shattering the windows and leaving the pilots blind.

A pilot for AtlasGlobal was forced to make a blind emergency landing over the weekend in Turkey when hail the size of golf balls shattered the windshield of his plane and severely damaged the nose.
(Screenshot courtesy of Today)

“Our locator did not show this weather disaster, this is why it happened,” he said, according to Fox News.
Apokov was forced to turn back and attempt a landing at Atatürk Airport using only his instruments.
In a video taken of the landing by Oleg Lungul, an engineer who works at the airport, other airport employees can be heard saying: “It won’t be able to land, it won’t land.”
But the aircraft did land safely, Lungul said in another post, and the airport employees began applauding Akopov for his daring landing.
“The pilots of the other planes flashed their lights and just came on board to shake hands,” Lungul posted. “All the Turkish channels showed landing landing, and when the boys arrived at the hotel, we all had the hotel staff and applauded them.”
Akopov, who has been awarded Ukraine’s Order for Courage, seemed fairly unfazed by the entire incident, according to the UK Telegraph.
“I have been flying for 30 years,” the paper quoted him upon landing. “Well, did you see the plane landing? Was it OK? The passengers are alive. It is normal. This is our professional reliability.”

A pilot for AtlasGlobal was forced to make a blind emergency landing over the weekend in Turkey when hail the size of golf balls shattered the windshield of his plane and severely damaged the nose.
(Screenshot courtesy of Today )

At least three people were injured elsewhere in Istanbul, where the heavy storm took down a stone wall and tree, and flooded the city's streets. A portion of a stone wall surrounding a cemetery for the city's Christian Armenian community was demolished during the storm, injuring two. Rescue crews and residents worked together to remove the stones and look for people trapped underneath the rubble.
An explosion and a fire occurred at a port after high winds toppled a large crane that landed on oil barrels, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. At least one person was injured in the fire, which was later brought under control. A small depot also caught fire after being hit by lightning.

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