Plane Severely Damaged By Hail Storm In Mid-Flight Turns Into Remarkable ‘Blind’ Landing By Pilot

By  //  July 31, 2017

127 terrified passengers on-board

ABOVE VIDEO: An Atlasjet plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Istanbul Ataturk International Airport. (Ruptly TV Video)

(THE SUN) – A BRAVE pilot landed a tourist jet “blind” after giant hailstones smashed the cockpit’s windscreen and almost tore off its nosecone.

These incredible pictures show the plane after the pilot’s heroic emergency landing at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport with 127 passengers on board.

They show the severe external damage to the Airbus A320 from sudden unexpected hail during a thunder storm, and passengers crying and praying as the stricken plane comes in to a shaky landing.

A voice on the ground is heard saying: “He won’t do it, he won’t do it.”

Capt Alexander Akopov said he and other crew were celebrating as if it was a “second birthday” after his life-saving heroics in coping with damage caused by hailstones the size of hen’s eggs.

Incredibly, his auto pilot was taken out in the damage.

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