Plane makes miraculous landing after hailstorm cracks cockpit windows

A plane made a miraculous landing in China after hailstones caused severe damage to its exterior, with the cockpit windows being so cracked the pilots had almost zero visibility, while – to make matters worse – there were fist-size holes in the fuselage. The South China Airlines Airbus A320 plane was heading from Guangzhou to Chengdu when it encountered the adverse weather conditions. Pictures on social networks showed that large hailstones had caused significant damage to the aircraft, local media reported, as cited by the South China Morning Post.

Some of the holes were so big that a person would have been able to fit their fist into the damaged sections. Despite the low visibility for the pilots, they were thankfully able to rely on their navigation instruments inside the cockpit to bring the aircraft safely down onto the runway. Although the plane’s outer coating was damaged, thankfully its interior was untouched, which is made of strong protective materials. The airline said that no injuries were reported, but the same cannot be said for the aircraft, which will have to undergo some repairs before it is put back into service.