Sent to me by Indi;

A Boeing 727 freighter over Canada encountered some hail at FL350 and came off looking the worse for wear. The hailstones were reportedly tennis ball sized, but aren't they always? Sometimes golf ball sized, but always analogous to some variety of spheroidal sporting equipment.




The accompanying email said the aircraft was written off as a result, but Pprune reckons she was fixed up and put back into service.

Also - considering the damage, it's surprising the engines didn't quit. Any turbine pilots out there want to tell me if that's usually the case with hail or if they just build them extra tough at Pratt and Whitney.