Hailstorm damages US-bound passenger plane in Spain, forcing it to do a U-turn and land shortly after take-off

An Airbus A330 plane that had just started its journey to JFK airport in the United States from Barcelona airport was forced to return to the Catalan city a few minutes later on Saturday after suffering damage to the nose of the aircraft, which had significant dents caused by a heavy storm that unloaded an intense hailstorm.

The cause was the same 'Dana' depresson that paralysed rail transport for hours in some parts of Catalonia, with cancellations of long-distance and Rodalíes commuter services, and which was also strongly felt in Aragon, Navarre and Valencia. In this case, the storm put a damper on the plans of passengers on the flight to the US.

As explained by air traffic controllers on social media networks, specifically on their X profile, the flight crew informed them that they had just been hit by hail, which could have caused damage, so they needed to return and land at El Prat. "They requested checks to be carried out and we instructed them to carry them out in a standby area to the south of the airport. Once ready, we positioned them for a direct approach to runway 06L, landing and clearing the runway without incident", they added, sharing the route the plane made in the air and the image of the damaged nose, which has gone viral.

The affected area, as detailed, is a part that protects the weather radar and other electronic components of the aircraft.