Delta Airplane Makes Emergency Landing After Hail Storm Destroys Windshield and Nose Cone
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Beau Sorenson's photo of Delta flight 1889
Beau Sorensen
By Lindsay Kimble
@lekimble
updated 08/08/2015 AT 05:45 PM EDT
•originally published 08/08/2015 AT 04:50 PM EDT
A Delta jet had to make an emergency landing at the Denver International Airport on Friday after the plane became damaged during a hail storm.
The freak weather storm intercepted the flight's journey to Salt Lake City, Utah, from Boston, Massachusetts, PEOPLE confirms. The hail damaged the aircraft's windshield and nose cone.
"Delta flight 1889 from Boston to Salt Lake City diverted to Denver due to damage to the aircraft after encountering a thunderstorm that produced hail while in flight," a Delta Airlines spokesperson told PEOPLE in a statement. "The flight landed without incident, and passengers were re-accommodated on another aircraft. The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority."
Only one person was transported to a hospital per their own request, a Denver International Airport spokesperson told ABC News.
Denver International Airport did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The hail storm began over the border of Nebraska and eastern Colorado, reported Denver's CBS4.
Flight passenger Rob Wessman told ABC that other members of the flight were holding hands and crying.
"I was nervous," he told ABC. "I was messaging my wife, actually. 'Hey, this is pretty scary.' "
Beau Sorensen, also a passenger, captured a photo of the plane's damage.
"#Delta should give the pilot of my flight a sizable bonus for saving our butts," he wrote on Twitter. He also added that he was "glad to be alive."
The paint from the plane's entire nose appears striped and the tip is bent in. The front windows of the cockpit look cracked in the pic.
Audio of the pilots' conversations with the airport's air traffic controllers indicate that visibility was compromised during landing, according to ABC.
36SHARES
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Beau Sorenson's photo of Delta flight 1889
Beau Sorensen
By Lindsay Kimble
@lekimble
updated 08/08/2015 AT 05:45 PM EDT
•originally published 08/08/2015 AT 04:50 PM EDT
A Delta jet had to make an emergency landing at the Denver International Airport on Friday after the plane became damaged during a hail storm.
The freak weather storm intercepted the flight's journey to Salt Lake City, Utah, from Boston, Massachusetts, PEOPLE confirms. The hail damaged the aircraft's windshield and nose cone.
"Delta flight 1889 from Boston to Salt Lake City diverted to Denver due to damage to the aircraft after encountering a thunderstorm that produced hail while in flight," a Delta Airlines spokesperson told PEOPLE in a statement. "The flight landed without incident, and passengers were re-accommodated on another aircraft. The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority."
Only one person was transported to a hospital per their own request, a Denver International Airport spokesperson told ABC News.
Denver International Airport did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The hail storm began over the border of Nebraska and eastern Colorado, reported Denver's CBS4.
Flight passenger Rob Wessman told ABC that other members of the flight were holding hands and crying.
"I was nervous," he told ABC. "I was messaging my wife, actually. 'Hey, this is pretty scary.' "
Beau Sorensen, also a passenger, captured a photo of the plane's damage.
"#Delta should give the pilot of my flight a sizable bonus for saving our butts," he wrote on Twitter. He also added that he was "glad to be alive."
The paint from the plane's entire nose appears striped and the tip is bent in. The front windows of the cockpit look cracked in the pic.
Audio of the pilots' conversations with the airport's air traffic controllers indicate that visibility was compromised during landing, according to ABC.
