Flight to Phoenix diverted to El Paso due to hail damage
A flight heading to Phoenix from San Antonio, Texas, was forced to land in El Paso due to damage from a hail storm.
Posted — UpdatedScott Cruse posted a photo of the plane that shows the nose practically gone because of all the damage.
American Airlines flight 1897 took off from San Antonio just before 7 p.m. but weather forced the plane to land.
He said the plane lost altitude at 30,000 when it dropped suddenly in the middle of a hail storm. The pilots were able to land safely.
"We commend the great work of our pilots, along with our flight attendants, who safely landed the Airbus A319 at 8:03 p.m. MT.," American Airlines said in a statement.
Cruse said the plane's windshield was so badly damaged that airport workers in El Paso had to tow the plane back to the gate.
No one was hurt.
He said he boarded a different plane and should arrive in Phoenix late Sunday night.
"The aircraft is currently being evaluated by our maintenance team. We never want to disrupt our customers' travel plans, and we are sorry for the trouble this caused," American Airlines said.
The flight had 130 passengers and a crew of five.
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