Brave pilot honoured

Atlasglobal, a Turkish Airbus A320, flown by Ukranian captain Alexander Akopov was en route from Istanbul to Erkan, Cyprus, with 127 tourists on board, when it encountered severe violent storms and giant hailstones which smashed the windscreen, but the pilot kept his nerve and landed safely last week.

Soon after take-off at 1,300 metres above the ground, the aircraft’s nose was pummelled by hailstones the size of golf balls, shattering the windscreen and leaving the pilots unable to see.

Akopov, who has been awarded Ukraine’s Order of Courage,  told the bold decision to turn the plane around and attempt to return to Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport. The aircraft finally landed safely, was greeted by applause from the emergency services.