Hailstorm pits windshield of China Southern flight
- By Chen Xia
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E-mail China.org.cn, May 27, 2019
China Southern Airlines flight CZ3101 landed safely in Beijing on Sunday morning after severe hail badly damaged the plane's nose and windshield.
The airliner, an Airbus A380, departed from Guangzhou in southern China at 8:34, and landed in Beijing at 11:48 on May 26.
None of the passengers or the crew members aboard suffered any injuries, according to a statement released by the airline through their Sina Weibo social media platform. Photos shared over Weibo show the plane's windshield and nose were badly damaged and pitted by the hail.
The pilots told control tower that the outer layer of the window glass was damaged, but they were able to make a safe landing, according to recordings of their communications released after the incident.
The plane hit severe turbulence several times during landing. "The plane was rocked three or four times, each lasting around half a minute," reported an anonymous passenger.
"It felt like riding a roller coaster. I nearly vomited. It was so lucky that we made a safe landing," another passenger said.
In May of last year, Sichuan Airlines flight 3U8633 was forced to make an emergency landing after its windshield blew out at an altitude of 32,000 feet (9,753 meters), sucking the co-pilot halfway out of the plane. The pilot was awarded the title of "hero captain" by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
Strong winds and heavy rainfall hit Beijing on Sunday morning, causing 143 flights been cancelled till 13:00 that day.
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