A whopping 13 flights were diverted outside of Istanbul and away from the violent storm, according to reports from Hurriyet 20, but as the heavy rains persisted, at least four other flights took a beating that left many passengers worried for their safety.
Forty-year-old Sakir Bahadir, who was on Turkish Airline flight TK 969, was left wondering if the plane was going to “land on the sea,” he told Hurriyet 20, as the Airbus 321 “was full of water on the floor.”
As Bahadir’s flight descended toward Turkey’s Canakkale Airport, the plane wound up with a cracked cockpit window and a damaged radome – the plane’s nose.
— Turkish Air News (@AnalystTK) July 27, 2017
The second victim was Pegasus Airlines flight PC909, which wound up limping into Istanbul-Sabiha Gokcen International Airport with a battered nose and welted wings.
— Nihat Sırdar (@nihatsirdar) July 27, 2017
But it was Atlas Global flight KK1010 that takes the cake for damage, coming in with its nose fully caved in thanks to those pesky hail stones.
— AirportHaber (@AirportHaber) July 27, 2017
Need a closer view?
— AIRLIVE (@airlivenet) July 28, 2017
Despite the abuse, it also made a safe landing at Ataturk International Airport.
While Kalitta Air’s Boeing 747 didn’t sustain damage during flight, strong wind gusts upended a cargo loading vehicle, puncturing the parked plane’s fuselage on the right side of the nose landing gear, according to the Flight Safety Foundation.
— AirportHaber (@AirportHaber) July 27, 2017
Even the indoors failed to provide a safe environment for travelers, as rain water began to gush through terminal roofs.
— ARTI49 (@arti49com) July 28, 2017
Elsewhere in Istanbul, hundreds of residents sought refuge in underground shops as the 20-minute long storm carved a path of destruction through the city.
Some, stranded in the downpour, were stuck hiding behind the columns of local businesses.
According to the Guardian, the monstrous summer storm injured at least three people, and caused an explosion and a fire to break out after a toppled crane landed on oil barrels.
— votk@ (@egtazzi) July 27, 2017
Even a struggling kitty was saved– someone give that man an award.
— Alper Gel (@GelAlper) July 27, 2017
This was the second time within a span of 10 days that heavy rains flooded the streets of Istanbul.
