Inside a Harrowing, Hail-Damaged Flight: ‘We Thought It Was Our Last'
Sheikh Samiullah, a frequent flier, thought nothing of it when he heard the pilot of his flight tell passengers to fasten their seatbelts and ask the cabin crew to be seated.
But within minutes, the plane encountered a severe hailstorm and suddenly plunged. Mr. Samiullah and other passengers aboard the Wednesday flight by an IndiGo passenger jet traveling from the Indian capital of New Delhi to Srinagar, in the Kashmir region, started screaming and shouting. Even the flight attendants were crying, he said.
'They were calling their gods, we were calling our gods,' Mr. Samiullah, 33, said of the passengers shouting prayers in Hindi and Arabic. 'We thought it was our last flight; we thought we were going to die.'
The plane jolted upward and from side to side, and then plunged again, over a period of five to six minutes, Mr. Samiullah recounted. He was sure the plane would crash into the mountains below or be struck by the lightning visible from the windows.
A video that Mr. Samiullah, the chief executive of a logistics company, posted on social media showed terrified passengers exclaiming as the plane jolted.
'Nobody was expecting we would go for a safe landing,' he said.
But about 20 minutes after all the turmoil and fright, the plane landed safely. As passengers deplaned, they noticed a large chunk of the plane's nose was missing, apparently damaged by the hail.
IndiGo said in a statement on Wednesday that the flight had encountered a 'sudden hailstorm.' It added: 'The flight and cabin crew followed established protocol, and the aircraft landed safely in Srinagar.'
Hail and turbulence — or unstable air movement caused by changes in wind speed and direction — are the greatest hazards to aircraft during thunderstorms, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Hail can freeze onto other pieces of hail, sometimes growing into a huge ice ball. Hailstones larger than half an inch in diameter can 'significantly damage an aircraft in a few seconds,' the agency said. Hail can occur even in clear air several miles from a thunderstorm.
Passenger aircraft are not designed to absorb large hailstone impacts without damage, Airbus said in its Safety First magazine. Extreme hailstorms can lead to loss of visibility, unreliable air data or engine failure, and the best way to avoid them is to rely on weather radars.
Last year a 73-year-old British man died and dozens were injured when a Singapore Airlines plane hit intense turbulence 10 hours into a flight from London to Singapore. The plane rose unexpectedly by 362 feet, likely because of an updraft, and sped up unexpectedly. Pilots manually hit a brake in response, and the plane lost about 178 feet of altitude in less than five seconds.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
7 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Landing in Istanbul? Stay Seated—or Risk a Fine
The annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association is a good place to take the temperature of the global aviation industry. At this year's conclave, in New Delhi, there was ample discussion of planes, parts and tariffs. But one offbeat idea from Turkey caught the eye of aviation reporter Leen Al-Rashdan. Plus: Resources to fight AIDS in South Africa are vanishing. Help us improve Bloomberg newsletters: Take a quick survey to share your thoughts on your signup experience and what you'd like to see in the future. And if this email was forwarded to you, click here to sign up.
Skift
8 hours ago
- Skift
Can Airline Growth and Climate Goals Coexist? Delta Thinks So
Delta wants to grow and decarbonize at the same time. But can airlines fly toward 'net zero' without changing their business models? Delta Air Lines says sustainability is still a top priority, even as the company grows and its greenhouse gas emissions increase. Speaking on Skift's climate podcast GreenShift, Amelia DeLuca, Delta's Chief Sustainability Officer, acknowledged the tension between business expansion and climate goals. But she said the airline remains focused on reducing emissions. 'Delta is not a sustainability company that just happens to have an airline - we're an airline that has a sustainability team and policy,' DeLuca said. 'But we also know that if we don't decarbonize, we lose our license to operate over the next hundred years.' Listen to This Podcast A Balancing Act Between Growth and Green Goals Airlines are under growing pressure to curb emissions, with the sector pledging to reach net zero by 2050. But Delta's emissions rose in 2024 to their highest level since before the pandemic, according to its most recent sustainability report. 'The industry, Delta included, is in growth mode as we come back from the pandemic,' DeLuca said. 'We've just seen continued support for international travel and premium travel. So Delta is obviously trying to serve its customers as best we can. And through that, you're seeing growth in international destinations and premium seats.' The airline has hundreds of planes on order and while new aircraft are more efficient, more flights will mean more emissions. Amelia DeLuca serves as Chief Sustainability Officer at Delta Air Lines, leading the airline's net zero by 2050 goal. Despite rising emissions, DeLuca pointed to signs of progress. She said Delta increased its capacity by 5% last year compared to 2019, but used less jet fuel, a first for the airline. It saved 45 million gallons of jet fuel and roughly $110 million. 'That means we're growing, but doing so more efficiently,' she said. Delta credits that efficiency to flight improvements such as more efficient routes as well as newer aircraft, which the International Air Transport Association says can be up to 20% more fuel efficient than older models. DeLuca also said part of the emissions increase comes down to better data. As Delta improves tracking of indirect emissions, such as those from suppliers, its total footprint appears larger. 'Our scope three emissions look like they're going up, but it's just because we're now working with our supply chain to give us the most accurate emissions that we can get,' she said. The Race for Sustainable Aviation Fuel DeLuca made it clear that operational tweaks and better planes won't be enough. 'Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is the biggest lever,' she said. 'It's the only thing that gets us to net zero. We're in a race against time.' Delta is building a SAF blending hub in Minnesota and working with corporate clients to create demand. The airline hopes this can serve as a model for broader state-level action. There have been concerns that SAF production will never be able to grow to the level required by the entire aviation sector, as it tries to decarbonize, due to issues around feedstocks. The fuel uses things like used cooking oil, of which there is limited supply, and plants, which are feared might result in crop displacement - taking vital land away for things like food for humans, for SAF. 'There's a limit to how much used cooking oil exists. The next generation of SAF is using biomass type products, such as corn waste, potentially woody biomass from fallen trees,' DeLuca said. 'All those have a limit.' DeLuca called on the sector to continue investing in new technologies such as carbon capture, capturing gasses out of the atmosphere using renewable energy and turning it back into fuel. 'These are unlimited feedstocks. And that cost profile of that product, if you have unlimited feedstocks, is actually lower than conventional jet fuel today. But that is a long way off. This is going to take all of us. Airlines alone can't solve climate change.' Skift's in-depth reporting on climate issues is made possible through the financial support of Intrepid Travel. This backing allows Skift to bring you high-quality journalism on one of the most important topics facing our planet today. Intrepid is not involved in any decisions made by Skift's editorial team.
Entrepreneur
8 hours ago
- Entrepreneur
How Is Air Connectivity Catalyzing India's Growth
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. In 10-15 years India's aviation industry has potential to evolve into a 10 billion dollar market by domestically manufacturing avionics, structural components and electronics. With 2,200 aircraft orders expected to reach India, there is unprecedented scope of growth in the sector. "It's just the beginning of the aviation boom in India. Manufacturing and trade are critical components of the vision of making India grow further in the sector," said Ananth Narayanan, Senior Vice President & Chief Industry Officer, Invest India. Stating Infrastructure as one of the key growth drivers in India, Narayanan added that connectivity is a crucial factor that foreign investors often look for, before investing in India. There are high frequency indicators of consumption and finally the Indian economy is growing at scale. "About 75 to 80 percent of Indian consumption comes from 200 cities. And this will further grow as urbanization would jump by 40 to 50 percent. We want to be present in every city which is fostering this growth as connectivity improves over time," said Patu Keswani, Chairman and MD, Lemon Tree Hotels. "Wherever we have put up a hotel within half an hour of range from an airport, we have seen material difference in uptick of booking," Keswani added. Consumption of airline seats has grown 13 percent in the last five years. Hotel capacities have grown 16 percent in the last ten years. "In the next four years, tailwinds will lead to a discretionary change in tourism consumption in India. We estimate around 100 millions would be travelling outside India, and through our loyalty programme, we aim to leverage the opportunity, Keshwani explained. India's airlines continue to achieve double-digit growth, with 240 million passengers flying annually—surpassing the total population of most countries worldwide. Aspirations do not lie in top five to six cities, it resides in Tier II, III, IV and beyond. "We have moved from having 5 to 50 centers in India and next year we might reach 100 branch centers because the aspirational push in India is coming from across the country and not only lies in the top metros," said Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO, Edelweiss Asset Management Limited. "When you want to deliver financial products you have to be present on the ground. In order to make capital market products or financial products accessible, infrastructure and connectivity of geographies play a crucial role. Inflows of both foreign and domestic capital are dependent on on-ground developments such as factories, offices, etc. And these are further bolstered by seamless connectivity. Wherever there is connectivity there is scope of development," Gupta added. Indian aviation is realizing the enormous potential of a market of 1.4 billion people as it catalyzes growth in tourism and investment that is critical to India's national development. The panelists were speaking at the 81st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The panel examined the impact of aviation and how it contributes to social and economic development as a force.
