Passengers recalled the terrifying moment the plane was hit by a hailstorm mid-air. Photo / Twitter
Shocking images show the destruction a hailstorm caused on an American Airlines plane during a flight.
The photos show the plane's shattered windshield and damaged nose, after the aircraft was battered by a hailstorm mid-air.
Passengers have recounted the panic they felt inside the plane as Flight 1897 was struck by the hailstorm on Sunday, on its way to Phoenix, Arizona, from San Antonio, Texas.
The plane had to be diverted to El Paso, in Texas, after the storm caused the damage.
The pilots managed to turn the aircraft around and land safely in El Paso, despite having almost no visibility through the shattered windshield.
"I keep looking back at the photos and getting chills," a passenger who took the photos told ABC 15.
"I could see people starting to panic and crying, and I couldn't breathe," the woman said.
Another passenger described the flight on Twitter.
"Things were flying. Passengers throwing up. Scariest flight of my life," he wrote.
"It was by far one of the most terrifying experiences I've ever been through," a third passenger told KENS-TV.
Despite many passengers feeling ill during the storm, there are no injuries to report.
"On June 3, American Airlines flight 1897, from San Antonio to Phoenix, diverted to El Paso due to damage sustained by weather in flight," American Airlines said in a statement.
"We commend the great work of our pilots, along with our flight attendants, who safely landed the Airbus A319 at 8.03pm MDT."
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