Austrian Airlines Investigated After Hailstorm Incident

Austrian Airlines Investigated After Hailstorm Incident

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Investigators are probing Austrian Airlines (AUA) for alleged negligence and potential manipulation of documents following a serious incident in June, when one of its aircraft was severely damaged by a hailstorm during its approach to Vienna.

The Airbus A320 had been flying from Palma de Mallorca to Vienna on June 9 when it encountered a violent thunderstorm, which shattered the cockpit windows and ripped off the nose cone. Despite the damage, the aircraft managed to land safely at Vienna Airport, though it only returned to scheduled services after undergoing repairs.

The Korneuburg public prosecutor’s office is investigating whether AUA failed to provide its pilots with adequate training on the operation of weather radar systems, a spokesperson for the authorities, Josef Mechtler, confirmed. The investigation stems from information an expert received from a pilot, according to Mechtler. 

The prosecutor’s office has ordered the seizure of the relevant training documents, which AUA has already submitted. These documents are now under review by both the public prosecutor’s office and an expert in aviation and accident analysis.

The two pilots from flight OS 434, which operated on June 9, are also under investigation for allegedly endangering the public through negligence. The authorities have yet to receive data from the aircraft’s flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, as legal appeals have delayed the process of their seizure.

AUA has firmly denied all the allegations.

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