Upon landing in Vienna: Hail severely damages aircraft

An Austrian Airlines aircraft was badly damaged on its approach to Vienna airport, from Palma Mallorca.

On Sunday evening, 9th June, a plane flew through a severe thunderstorm at an altitude of around 6000 metres, above the Hartberg area in Austria.

Large hail produced by the supercell severely damaged the cockpit windscreen and the nose of the fuselage, among other things.

The windows were not broken all the way through however, albeit smashed on the surface, which is why there was no loss of pressure inside the aircraft. Fortunately, nobody was injured and the extent of the damage was only realised after landing.

The Airbus A320 flying from Palma remained operational despite the storm, and was able to land safely at Schwechat Airport, with some delay.

The same thunderstorm cell produced a tornado an hour later on the border between Burgenland, Austria and Hungary. Hail measuring up to 6 cm in diameter was also recorded in Austria, damaging over 30 cars and sweeping away several others in flash floods.