Take a look at the front of this plane

[A930Rocket]

Must have been some landing!

Pilot lands plane ‘blind’ after hail destroys nose and windshield of aircraft | Fox News


Pilot lands plane ‘blind’ after hail destroys nose and windshield of aircraft.
Capt. Alexander Akopov is being hailed as a hero.

The pilot safely landing a passenger aircraft that was severely damaged in a hailstorm over Istanbul, Turkey, last week.

According to The Telegraph, Akopov had just taken off for Erkan, Cyprus, with 127 passengers on-board when “hailstones the size of golf balls” began battering the AtlasGlobal-operated Airbus A320, damaging the nose and shattering the windshield.

Akopov had no choice but to turn the plane around and attempt a “blind” landing at the Ataturk Airport, using only the plane’s instruments to guide him.

Footage taken from near the runway shows the plane touching down safely, although voices could be heard worrying that Akopov “won’t be able to land” under the circumstances.

Oleg Lungul, an engineer who works at the airport, later said on Facebook that the airport’s employees began applauding Akopov upon landing. Nearby pilots then boarded the plane to shake hands with the crew, Lulgul said.


Lungul also included photos of the plane’s nose and windshield, which appeared to have suffered extensive damage from the “chicken egg”-sized hail.

Speaking to reporters after the landing, Akopov gave some insight into how he was able to land the aircraft safely.

"I have been flying for 30 years,” he said. “Well, did you see the plane landing? Was it OK? The passengers are alive. It is normal," he said, according to The Mirror.

"This is our professional reliability. Our locator did not show this weather disaster, this is why it happened.”


Capt. Akapov also added that it was difficult landing the plane, but stressed, “the main thing is that people are alive.”

Akopov, who is Ukranian, has since been awarded the Ukraine Order of Courage medal for his actions.

[fingpilot]

There have been times I wish I was blind after lowering the nose to the runway.

A 'blind' landing is not that unusual. It's illegal, but every six months, you do one in the sim.

There are procedures and regs for extremely low ceiling and vis approaches, but crews and planes are specially trained and equipped.

[motion]

Wow, expensive hail storm.

Begs the question: Why don't planes get more hail damage? Hail storms are fairly common.

[KNS]

I got caught in hail once in a helicopter while flying an AStar, nothing at all like the photo in the link but it scares the crap out of you!! Thankfully no damage.

Motion - most larger aircraft/jets have weather radar to let them know where the nasty stuff is and to avoid it.

[pavulon]

Also remarkable that the leading edges of the ailerons, tail, wings as well as engines didn't give up the ghost.

[911_Dude]

That must have been loud as hell when it was happening. Not fun.

[BReif61]

How was that plane allowed to take off and follow that flight path? Flights are delayed or diverted all the time. Flying one straight into a (presumed) thunderstorm doesn't make sense.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by KNS

Motion - most larger aircraft/jets have weather radar to let them know where the nasty stuff is and to avoid it.

So.......... someone on the flight crew failed to alter the pilot of these conditions?

EDIT: One of the comments from the opening link:

Unimpressed67
7 hours ago


Professional pilots with Radar Equipped airplanes don't fly into storms with baseball sized hail. PERIOD! No chance, no way, no how. After their incomprehensible and ridiculous decision to enter those conditions, the crew did a decent job of getting the plane back. I would imagine the autopilot was coupled until at least 50 feet. I certainly wouldn't call the Captain a hero. In the US he would likely be violated by the FAA for unsafe operation of the aircraft. It's hard to convey the magnitude of his gross negligence to non-pilots. I don't know who or what the "locator" is that he blames for not seeing the hail, but the onboard aircraft radar would absolutely have painted hail of that size. There simply is no excuse for that level of poor decision making.*

Don't believe me? How many other planes were damaged by this "undetectable" hailstorm?"*

retiredsf
4 hours ago


Mike. Wrong. The Aircraft is equipped with sufficient equipment to detect the storm.
I managed aviation projects with Eastern European pilots. They are not raised in a safety culture. They are raised to get it done and save the company money. A toxic situation .
This was an accident waiting to happen, Airbus saved the passengers when a fatally flawed captain almost killed them.
Not a hero, a zero saved by technology he ignored.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Good job of pilotage after totally blowing the preflight weather check. An A320 is modern enough, he should have known exactly what he was flying into.

[flipper35]

Assuming everything was working properly. I would not be so sure with some airlines.

[Rinty]

There are already lots of comments on Professional Pilots Rumor Network.

I remember from my (private) flying days that hail could be spit out from CB's for many miles around.

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Good job of pilotage after totally blowing the preflight weather check. An A320 is modern enough, he should have known exactly what he was flying into.

I agree, but strange that ATC gave T/O clearance if a thunderstorm was that close and/or tracking over departure routes. I know some airports are crazy-busy, and ATC will shoot the gaps on storm cells (in and out). Approaching A/C will usually be given the choice to hold or divert. Departing A/C stacks up until there is a window. However, it would appear this guy didn't even have a clue what he was in for, nor did he get a vector around it after T/O.

[1990C4S]

Meh, just another 'accident'.

Pilot of Gimli Glider returns to air strip 30 years later - Manitoba - CBC News

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Eric Coffey

I agree, but strange that ATC gave T/O clearance if a thunderstorm was that close and/or tracking over departure routes. I know some airports are crazy-busy, and ATC will shoot the gaps on storm cells (in and out). Approaching A/C will usually be given the choice to hold or divert. Departing A/C stacks up until there is a window. However, it would appear this guy didn't even have a clue what he was in for, nor did he get a vector around it after T/O.

That's making a lot of assumptions about the quality of ATC in Cyprus.

[recycled sixtie]

No pilot is forced to fly in to a thunderstorm. If there are thunderstorms hanging over the airport it is the pilots discretion whether he/she takes off into it. An ATC controller cannot force the pilot to fly.

The same with landing. Nobody can force you to land. You can hold, divert or land.
There is a likelihood that downdrafts in some thunderstorms can exceed the climb performance of modern jet aircraft. So if you want to land or take off into or even near a thunderstorm it is a crap shoot.

Flying with a serviceable weather radar is mandatory if thunderstorms are forecast.
To do otherwise is negligent.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by motion

Wow, expensive hail storm.

Begs the question: Why don't planes get more hail damage? Hail storms are fairly common.

I've lost track of how many airplanes we repaired due to hail damage over the course of my career. A lot of it happens when they are on the ground when the storm moves in. I've seen entire upper fuselages that looked like golf balls, and every fiberglass or other composite panel on the tops of the wings and empennage destroyed. Just not very news worthy, so the public doesn't hear about it. In-flight damage is more rare, but certainly not uncommon, but it's rarely this dramatic and news worthy, either.

[cashflyer]

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

That's making a lot of assumptions about the quality of ATC in Cyprus.

I think he was departing from (and returned to) Ataturk, Istanbul, but fair/valid point nonetheless!

[rusnak]

Those is a size of a quarter dog gone......

[Deschodt]

Aren't airline pilots *supposed to* be able to land on instruments without visibility ?