Created Thursday, Sep 30th 2021 16:33Z, last updated Thursday, Sep 30th 2021 16:33Z
A Srilankan Airbus A330-300, registration 4R-ALM performing flight
UL-1265 from Colombo (Sri Lanka) to Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), was climbing through FL340 out of Colombo about 180nm northwest of Colombo when both captain's and first officer's windshields were shattered. The crew returned the aircraft to Colombo for a safe landing on runway 22 about one hour after departure.
A replacement Airbus A330-300 registration 4R-ALQ reached Riyadh with a delay of about 3:15 hours.
Sri Lanka's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) reported captain's and first officer's windshields shattered due to suspected hail storm while climbing through FL340. The aircraft returned to Colombo for an overweight landing. The occurrence was rated a serious incident and is being investigated by Sri Lanka's CAA.
Infrared Satellite Image Sep 18th 2021 18:00Z, about 8 hours after occurrence (Graphics: AVH/Eumetsat):
