S7 Sibir Airlines (S7) Airbus A320-214 aircraft cracks both of its windshields, damages the Radome while Climbing out of Chelyabinsk (CEK) airport due to Severe Hail Storm.
Due to the Hail storm, the Radome of the aircraft was also damaged requiring repairs to it, while the outer pane of both the Windshields (LH +RH) were found with multiple cracks , requiring replacement of the same.
The aircraft registered as VP-BOL was performing a flight S7-1146 from Chelyabinsk (CEK) to Moscow Domodedovo (Russia) on 3rd July.
However, the cockpit decided to continue the flight to Moscow (DME) for a duration of 2.20 hours and landed without further incident at Domodedovo Airport.
In case of Such 'Windshield crack event' in flight, Pilots prefer to land at nearest destination at earliest, if they could not differentiate the crack location, i.e. , if crack is on Outer pane (layer) of the of the windshield or Inner Pane of the windshield ! Many aircrafts have allowable limits to continue the flight, in case of an Windshield Outer Pane crack incident.
Aircraft Details
Aircraft Model : A320-214 .
Aircraft Regd. : VP-BOL .
MSN : 6066 .
First Flight : 23/04/2014 .
Engines : 2 x CFMI CFM56-5B4/P
Other possible reasons of an Windshield Crack !
► One of the reason may be the quality of the windshield. A windshield life is aprox. 30,000FC. Substandard windshields age faster, Crack/crazing can initiate early compromising the safety of the aircraft.
► At higher altitudes,the outside temp. is very low,windshields need to be heated.Again,uneven heating or short circuit can induce intensity change & break due to differential pressure of inside & outside the cabin.
► Periodic checks needing windshield removal & installation can lead to an error/risk factor,if a wrong fastener is used or wroung torque /sequencing is used.
► Possibility of an intruder /FOD. The windshield may be hit by something,such as a bird or hailstones at lower altitudes.
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