Plane’s windscreen completely shattered after emergency landing during severe hailstorm
The impact of the hail also damaged the side windows and the nose of the plane
SCARY images have revealed what a plane windscreen looks like after a strong hailstorm.
The pictures of the China Southern Airlines plane shows the screen severely shattered following the mid-air weather emergency.
China Southern Airlines Flight 3101 was reportedly flying around a thunderstorm when it was struck by hailstones just minutes before its scheduled landing.
Following protocol, Captain He Xianghang, who has more than 15,000 hours of flight experience, issued a Mayday call to air traffic control at Beijing Capital International Airport, informing them of the damage to the Airbus A380-800.
Images taken of the interior of the cockpit show the front windscreen and side windows splintered and cracked due to the hail impact.
Paint is also missing from the nose of the aircraft as a result of the storm.
However, in radio transmissions released online, Captain He can be heard telling the control tower he "can still see" while he was flying.
He was given permission to land successfully touched down in the Chinese capital at 11:48am local time on May 26.
China Southern Airlines said no one was injured during the hailstorm scare, while passengers have likened turbulence on the flight to being on a "roller coaster".
Beijing airport was forced to cancelled 25 per cent of scheduled flights due to the severe weather conditions.
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Last year, an American Airlines flight was also forced to make an emergency landing after the plane was damaged during a severe hailstorm.
Passengers on the plane said the turbulence saw people vomiting and crying.
A plane crashed shortly after take off after trying to depart in severe weather conditions - miraculously everyone on board survived.
Sun Online Travel has contacted China Southern Airlines for comment.