AA 1897 SAT-PHX Divert to ELP for Hail Damage

[Airbubba]

American 1897, an A319 N806AW, San Antonio to Phoenix is diverting to El Paso due to hail damage that has shattered the windshield. They report having little forward visibility due to the damage.

They are currently holding north of the field doing checklists. So far, no injuries reported from the weather encounter.

[MarkerInbound]

Looks like a fairly solid line of storms from Mexico north across far west Texas and eastern Nex Mexico to Colorado.

[Airbubba]

ILS 22, exit to the left at H. Checked by ARFF, they say the 'nose cone' is very damaged as well. Will be towed to gate A4 as soon as AA can find the towbar. Still no known injuries.

Pax selfies on Twitter and the 11 pm news.

[Airbubba]

Customary after landing tweet with a picture of the AA1897 pilots and requests from media like the Daily Mail asking for usage rights in the comments:

AA 1897 Tweet

Statement from AA corporate:

“American Airlines flight 1897, from San Antonio to Phoenix, diverted to El Paso due to damage sustained by weather in flight. The aircraft, an Airbus A319 with 130 passengers and a crew of five, landed safely at 8:03 p.m. MT. 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.”

[Locked door]

It’s amazing how many commercial pilots think weather radars can detect hail.

Ice produces virtually no return, hence every year or so we get to see photos like this.

LD

[EDLB]

You can see how happy the FO and Captain is, to be safe on the ground. Definitely worth their pay.

[FIRESYSOK]

Originally Posted by Locked door

It’s amazing how many commercial pilots think weather radars can detect hail.

Ice produces virtually no return, hence every year or so we get to see photos like this.

LD

Hail does produce returns if it is wet enough.

And if it didn’t this time- or any other time for that matter- other than staying home, how would anyone including yourself eliminate the risk entirely?

I’m sure they (and perhaps with concurrence of despatch) thought they were deviating prudently enough.

Armchair warrior indeed.

[Airbubba]

You can see where they may have thought there was a break in the line of weather over New Mexico and then hit a hail shaft in the 'clear' area.

[aa73]

Those pics are not of the AA aircraft, they are of the Delta 319 that had a similar encounter not long ago. Note the blue engine cowlings/underside and the gold epaulettes of the DL CA....

[Airbubba]

Originally Posted by aa73

Those pics are not of the AA aircraft, they are of the Delta 319 that had a similar encounter not long ago. Note the blue engine cowlings/underside and the gold epaulettes of the DL CA....

Thanks for the correction, I'll remove the post.

[Nemrytter]

Airbubba, relying on the flightaware weather radar graphic can be a bit misleading - it's not always at the same time as whatever incident you're looking at.
That said, insight into the decision making process for the route they took will be very interesting.

[b1lanc]

Originally Posted by Airbubba

Thanks for the correction, I'll remove the post.

Your pic of the nose from the port side was AA (AA tug attached). The revised pic is now on AVH. I think the word damage is an understatement for the radome.

[Airbubba]

Some more web clippings, thanks for the help on finding the correct aircraft.

Video of the pilots after deplaning:

You Tube

Some pictures from various media and social media sources:

[Jet Jockey A4]

WOW... I'd like to see the leading edges and engine intakes.

[JammedStab]

Originally Posted by Jet Jockey A4

WOW... I'd like to see the leading edges and engine intakes.

You can see much of the wings and intakes in the first picture with little to no damage. I have noticed this frequently in these hail encounters and would be curious to know if anyone has an explanation for the lack of damage in some area where one would think that there would be damage.

[JammedStab]

Originally Posted by FIRESYSOK

Hail does produce returns if it is wet enough.

And if it didn’t this time- or any other time for that matter- other than staying home, how would anyone including yourself eliminate the risk entirely?

I’m sure they (and perhaps with concurrence of despatch) thought they were deviating prudently enough.

Deviate even further than you think is necessary from the big storms over land, especially in areas known for nasty stuff. Not always easy, I know..

[B-757]

Originally Posted by Locked door

It’s amazing how many commercial pilots think weather radars can detect hail.

Ice produces virtually no return, hence every year or so we get to see photos like this.

LD

..True statement..However, radar will detect the moisture where the hail is coming from..Tilt down to below freezing level, and avoid with safe distance..I know it sounds easy, but 0 degrees does not work at FL370..Not referring to this case though, as I do not know what happened..

Fly Safe,
B-757

[Sailvi767]

Hail can be tossed out of a big cell as far as 20 miles downwind. The problem is that if you will only operate when you can remain 20 miles away from a cell your going to be grounded a good part of the summer in the US.

[Airbubba]

A morning after picture from a news report credited to Holly Rush:



The nacelle and wing don't look too bad in this shot.

[llondel]

Originally Posted by JammedStab

You can see much of the wings and intakes in the first picture with little to no damage. I have noticed this frequently in these hail encounters and would be curious to know if anyone has an explanation for the lack of damage in some area where one would think that there would be damage.

The non-metallic parts are the ones that took the clearly-visible damage. It's possible that there are dents on the other leading edges but I've not seen a close-up that would show impact dents.