Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko recently awarded Ukrainian-Armenian pilot Captain Alexander Akopov with the Ukrainian Order of Courage after he landed a plane carrying 127 people in Turkey amid a massive hailstorm.
Akopov was flying the Atlasglobal Airbus A320 from Istanbul to Cyprus on July 31 when the storm hit just after the plane took off. Akopov was granted permission to land at Ataturk International Airport, despite the airport’s being closed to other flights.
The golf-ball sized hailstones caused extensive damage to the plane’s windscreen, which meant Akopov managed the landing with heavily reduced vision. The aircraft’s nose was also severely damaged in the storm.
Two crew members were also praised for their efforts during the emergency.