American Airlines flight forced to land, HEAVY hail damage
News agency
Wednesday, June 6, 2018, 6:30 AM - A hail storm cracked the windshield of an American Airlines jetliner headed to Phoenix and forced it to divert to El Paso, Texas, Sunday night, officials said.
Flight 1897 from San Antonio, Texas, to Phoenix diverted "due to damage sustained by weather in flight," the airline said in a statement, but gave few other details other than the plane sustained damage to "its nose and windshield" from hail.
None of the 130 passengers and crew of five was injured and the plane was able to taxi normally to the gate, the statement said.
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Photo above shows the track of Sunday's flight, including the diversion to El Paso during the height of the hail storm. Courtesy: FlightAware
WORST NIGHTMARE: WHAT HAPPENED, WITH METEOROLOGIST ERIN WENCKSTERN
The Airbus A319 landed shortly after 8 p.m. local time and the aircraft was being evaluated by maintenance crews, the airline said. All passengers were later taken on another plane to their destination.
IN PERSPECTIVE: 3-D VIEW OF THE HAIL CORE
MUST SEE PHOTOS: JAW-DROPPING PLANE DAMAGE
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(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Peter Graff)
