A LATAM Airlines aircraft suffered damage while flying from Santiago, Chile, to Asunción, Paraguay. The aircraft made an emergency landing at Silvio Pettirossi International Airport on Wednesday after experiencing “severe weather conditions during its flight path,” the airline said in a statement after the incident.
“Passengers and crew are safe and well,” the statement said, and the airline regretted “any inconvenience this weather situation may have caused to its passengers.” There were 48 people on the flight. The images show the damaged aircraft with its nose missing and its windshield smashed.
A passenger, Pable Thomen, was interviewed on a local radio station and said, “Near Asunción the terrible turbulence began and people already started to panic and then the pilot tells us to prepare for an emergency landing.” The passenger also said she was “saying goodbye to her daughter, telling her that she loved her, adored her and that they would always be together.”