LATAM Airbus aircraft A320 suffers heavy damage after flying through storm

A LATAM Airbus A320 aircraft sustained significant damage to its windshield, engine and radome after flying through a storm.

LATAM flight 1325 was flying from Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) in Chile, to Asuncion’s Silvio Pettirossi International Airport (ASU) in Paraguay on October 26, 2022 with 48 passengers on board.

While attempting to land at ASU, the crew initiated a go-around due to bad weather and had to divert the aircraft to Foz de Iguaçu Airport (IGU) in Brazil. After staying in IGU for about three hours, the flight departed again towards ASU in Paraguay.

It was when the aircraft, a 10-year old Airbus with registration CC-BAZ, was approaching Asuncion that it encountered severe weather. Passengers in the aircraft captured footage of the severe turbulence, which has been uploaded to social media.

Terrified passengers can be heard screaming as the aircraft shook violently, while another videoshows lightning flashes outside the aircraft window during the turbulence.

The severe weather forced the flight crew to perform an emergency landing at ASU airport. Once on ground, the damage to the aircraft’s radome and windscreen was clearly visible.

LATAM confirmed to CNN that the flight experienced “severe weather conditions during its flight path,” and that “Passengers and crew are safe and well,” adding that it regretted any inconvenience the situation may have caused to passengers.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Paraguay’s aviation authority had opened an investigation on the incident.

“This issue is under investigation, both on the DINAC side and on the side of the airline,” Paraguay’s National Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (DINAC), Félix Kanasawa told a local radio station.

Investigators will be looking into why the aircraft penetrated the storm and whether it could have been avoided.