Don't look now, Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, but there may be a new hero in town.
After hail damaged his aircraft, Captain Alexander Akopov brought 127 tourists to safely landing his plane "blind" in Istanbul.
If you have ever wondered what hail the size of a golf ball will do to an aircraft, you need only ask Akopov. He is being recognized as a hero after he guided the AtlasGlobal plane into a terrifying landing after it was severely damaged by giant hailstones during a surprise storm as the Airbus A 320 flew over Istanbul last week.
The damage was extensive. Akopov had to land the plane blind since the windshield had been shattered by the hailstones. The nose of the plane was also pockmarked with giant holes and had been completely dented in the center by the force of the storm and the hail.
Akopov was flying the plane from Istanbul to Erkan, Cyprus, when the storm tore up the plane.
After the battering, the captain had no choice but to turn the plane around and head back to Istanbul's Ataturk Airport where he had to attempt a "blind landing," using only the instruments to guide him because he couldn't see out of the shattered windshield.
Some in air traffic control were unsure of the landing and didn't know if it would be successful, but footage shows the plane landing without incident.
Airport engineer, Oleg Lungul, said that employees at the airport gave Akopov a hero's welcome, applauding him upon landing. Nearby pilots also boarded the aircraft to shake hands with Akopov.
"I have been flying for 30 years," he told the Mirror. "Well, did you see the plane landing? Was it OK? The passengers are alive. It is normal."
[READMORE]READ MORE: Pilots Grounded After Landing Gear Debacle[/READMORE]
Akapov did note that the weather was unusual and wasn't reported.
"This is our professional reliability. Our locator did not show this weather disaster, this is why it happened," he added.
Akopov, a Ukrainian, received the Ukraine Order of Courage medal for his actions.
AtlasGlobal is a Turkish airline that recently reinvented itself, capitalizing on its emphasis for quality and comfort in the air and expanding its global reach in 2015.
Today, the airline has a global fleet of A319, A320 and A321 aircraft and flies throughout Turkey, North Cyprus, the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
AtlasGlobal is known for its Flying Chef program of flights that are more than three hours as well as its Fly&Bus services that offer complimentary airport shuttles.
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