A hero pilot successfully landed a plane "blind" after hailstones shattered the aircraft's nose and windscreen.

The plane took off from Ercan International Airport in northern Cyprus, but Captain Alexander Akopov came into difficulty shortly afterwards when a storm broke out and large hailstones destroyed the cockpit's windscreen.

He was given permission to fly the AtlasGlobal jet into Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, where he managed to successfully land despite not being able to see anything.

Image: Passengers and crew applauded when the plane landed safely

The Airbus A320 had 121 passengers and six crew on board, who broke out into applause as the plane came to a halt.

Mr Akopov, who was given the Ukrainian Order for Courage in his home country, told local media: "I have been flying for 30 years.


"Did you see the plane landing? Was it okay? The passengers are alive. It is normal. This is our professional reliability.

"Our locator did not show this weather disaster, this is why it happened.

"It was hard, but the main thing is that people are alive."

Extreme weather batters Istanbul

The storm damaged the plane's nose and disabled the aircraft's autopilot.

Heavy rain and stormy weather has battered Istanbul in recent weeks, causing travel disruption after train stations and roads were flooded.

At the time of Mr Akopov's skilled landing, Ataturk Airport was closed to other flights due to bad weather.