Hazardous Weather Disposal Training for A320

- Hail Strike & Windshield Cracked

Ref.：None
Ver.：R1
Date：2020-08
Prepared by：Flight
Standard & Training Center
 Table of Contents

I. Typical Cases
II. Windshield Structure
III. Windshield Characteristics
IV. Why would cockpit windshield be cracked?
V. Can the aircraft fly safely with cracked windshield?
Common hazardous weather conditions in summer –
Hail strike prevention

Hail is considered as the greatest thunderstorm hazard to aircraft. Supercooled drops

above the freezing level begin to freeze. Once a drop has frozen, other drops latch on
and freeze to it, so the hailstone grows. Large hail occurs with severe thunderstorms
with strong updrafts that have built to great heights. Eventually, the hailstones fall,
possibly some distance from the storm core. Hail may be encountered in clear air
several miles from dark thunderstorm clouds.
Common hazardous weather conditions in summer –
Hail strike prevention
When flying above the freezing layer, supercooled rain drops and hails form weak radar return on
the radar display, therefore the real thunderstorm intensity will be reduced. In this case, the
recommended minimum lateral distances are shown as follows:

When flying through two pieces of CB, the distance between the two pieces of CB should be no
less than twice of the above distance. Increase the avoidance distance properly according to the
development and moving speed of thunderstorm.
Common hazardous weather conditions in summer –
Hail strike prevention
If unable to maintain the recommended minimum distance away from the thunderstorm, pay
attention to the following precautions:
a) When it is necessary to fly parallel to a line of cells, the safest path is on the upwind side (the
side away from the direction of storm travel). Although severe turbulence and hail can be
encountered in any direction outside a thunderstorm, strong drafts and hail are more often
encountered outside the body of the cell on the downwind side.
b) Avoid flight under the anvil. The greatest possibility of encountering hail is downwind of the
cell, where hail falls from the anvil or is tossed out from the side of the storm. Hail has been
encountered as much as 20 NM downwind from large thunderstorms.
c) Avoid Cirrus and Cirrostratus layers downwind from the storm tops. Such layer may be
formed by cumulonimbus tops and may contain hail, even though the radar scope
shows little or no return echoes.
d) If ATC requirements make flight into dangerous weather imminent, the PIC should request a
change of routing and if necessary use his/her emergency authority to avoid the severe weather
conditions.
e) Any flight in the vicinity of thunderstorms carries the risk of a sudden onset of moderate or
severe turbulence
I. Case One: Windshield Cracked
In 2019, an A320 aircraft carried out the Urumqi-Wuhan flight. The message
of weather radar failure appeared when the aircraft was at an altitude of 7500
meters near the transition point between the Area of Xi 'an and Zhengzhou. After
communication with ATC, the aircraft was offered radar vector to follow the
preceding aircraft and continue to fly to Wuhan airport. At about 30 nm from
P402, turbulence occurred and at the altitude of 6300 m, the outer layers of both
left and right front windshields were cracked.
I. Case Two: Windshield Cracked
In July, 2018, an A320 of TJA carried out the flight from Tianjin to Haikou. It encountered hail
strike during cruise at an altitude of 9800 meters in Zhengzhou Area, resulting in weather radar
failure, sunken radome with dotted damage, and crack of the outer layers of both left and right
front windshields. Finally, the flight diverted to Wuhan.
I. Case Three: Windshield Cracked
In May 2018, Flight 3U8633 of Sichuan Airlines carried out the flight from Chongqing to
Lhasa. During flight in Sichuan airspace, the windshield on the right side of the cockpit
broke and fell off at an altitude of about 10,000 meters, resulting in rapid depressurization
of the cockpit, temperature dropping to minus 40 degrees Celsius, and failure of quite a few
of the automation equipment onboard.
II. Windshield Structure

Windshield consists of the following parts——

Outer ply: the protective structure of windshield

Middle ply: the anti-damage safety structure of windshield. Between the
middle ply and outer ply is a heating layer, which can increase the toughness
of the outer ply and prevent icing, frost or condensation by electric heating.
Inner ply: the main load-bearing structure used to sustain the pressurization
load inside the cockpit.
 III. Windshield Characteristics

The outer ply is a non-structural ply, so the crack of the outer ply will not affect the
bearing capacity of windshield, but may affect the line of sight of flight crew.
On the inside surface of the outer-ply glass is a layer of heating film, which is used for
windshield heating and de-icing. Local non-conductive or short-circuit phenomenon
might occur due to the entry of moisture, as a result of which the currents through these
areas may produce sparks instantaneously discharging at high temperature. Consequently,
the heating film or even outer-ply glass crack may occur.
III. Windshield Characteristics

Cracks in the outer ply are shaped like a tree, similar to the cracks in common
glass, with residual visibility.
Cracks in the structural glass of the middle ply and the inner ply appear as
small blocks, similar to the shape of cracked tempered glass in a building, with
no residual visibility.
Cracks in the inner ply can be felt with a fingernail.
Other types of damage:
Bubble, discoloration, fracturing or delamination do not affect the strength of
the structural layers, but may affect the line of sight of flight crew.
IV. Why would the seemingly unbreakable cockpit windshield be cracked?

1. Windshield materials

Generally, windshield glass can withstand 30,000 cycles (One take-off and
landing is one cycle). If the material of windshield glass is not qualified,
premature aging may occur.
Usually, windshield is subject to the fixed-term testing of aircraft . There are
also the cases of windshield replaced as needed during the aircraft maintenance
operation.
According to the public information of the 3U8633 event, the aircraft was
manufactured in 2011, and flew more than 10,000 cycles in seven years. The
windshields of the aircraft which had not been replaced were the original ones
of Airbus. The aircraft was assembled in Tianjin.
IV. Why would the seemingly unbreakable cockpit windshield be cracked?
2. Windshield screws
An investigation into the BA5390 accident found that the direct cause was that the
screws used were smaller.
The windshield that was replaced earlier had been fitted with substandard screws, and
the maintenance department at that time adopted the policy of "as similar as possible"
without referring to the aircraft's maintenance files.

The window frame of an Airbus 320 disassembled during an overhaul.

Daub screw threads with putty and zinc chromate, mainly for corrosion
protection, and use torque wrench to tighten the screws.
IV. Why would the seemingly unbreakable cockpit windshield be cracked?

3. Internal and external pressure difference

During flight, due to the extremely low temperature outside the aircraft at high altitude,
the front windshield usually needs to be heated to maintain its strength. However, if
there is a short circuit or uneven heating during the heating process, the strength of the
glass may change and the glass may be broken due to the effect of internal and external
pressure difference.
IV. Why would the seemingly unbreakable cockpit windshield be cracked?
4. Foreign object impact
In November 2015, after the A321 aircraft of China Southern Airlines took off from Shenyang
Taoxian Airport, flight crew found that the front windshield was damaged, and then diverted to
Qingdao safely.
In July 2016, an A320 aircraft of China Southern Airlines flew from Guangzhou to Chengdu.
After landing, during the post-flight inspection, the maintenance personnel found that the
radome, the No. 1 and No.2 windshields as well as parts of the airframe at the front of the
aircraft were structurally damaged. The incident was initially judged to be caused by hail strike
during the flight. Boeing aircraft have had similar problems.
V. Can the aircraft fly safely with cracked windshield?
The outer ply of the front windshield of an aircraft is heated by a heating coating,
mainly for protection. In flight, the outside temperature can be as low as -60
degrees Celsius, and a heated windshield can effectively maintain a certain
strength and toughness.
The middle ply and inner ply are structural ply. Each structural ply (Inner ply or
Middle ply) can sustain twice the maximum differential pressure of a standard
flight. The aircraft is safe as long as either the middle ply or the inner ply is not
damaged.
In the case of aircraft windshield damaged, flight crew may touch the affected
glass with a pen or a finger nail to check if the crack(s) is (are) on the inner ply. If
the inner ply is damaged, flight crew cannot easily identify if the middle ply is
also affected or not, so flight crew shall initiate descent immediately to reduce the
internal and external pressure difference, and avoid further deterioration of the
situation and total loss of the windshield, which will lead to depressurization.
If the inner ply is not damaged, the inner ply is still able to sustain twice the
maximum differential pressure. Therefore, the aircraft is safe and can proceed
with the flight safely.
As long as flight crew prepare well, cooperate closely, and handle the
situation according to the procedure, the danger brought by windshield crack
can be overcome.
Thanks for watching!