Paraguay opens probe after airplane nose shattered during storm

By Daniela Desantis

ASUNCION (Reuters) – Paraguay’s aviation authority said on Thursday it had opened an investigation after a LATAM Airline plane’s nose was destroyed during a severe storm that forced it to make an emergency landing.

Flight LA1325, operated by LATAM Airlines Paraguay, had been caught in severe weather while flying to Asunción from Santiago de Chile late on Wednesday. Videos and images on social media showed the airborne aircraft shaking badly while lightning flashed outside.

The tip of the plane’s nose was shattered and the windshield had small cracks, the head of Paraguay’s National Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (DINAC), Félix Kanasawa, told local radio.

“This issue is under investigation, both on the DINAC side and on the side of the airline,” Kanasawa said.

The General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics of Chile said in a statement on Twitter that the aircraft, an Airbus 320, made an emergency landing “due to extreme and unforeseen weather conditions”.

LATAM Airlines Paraguay said in a statement that the aircraft “experienced severe weather conditions” that forced it to make an emergency landing around 11pm local time on Wednesday, which it managed to do successfully.

“Both passengers and crew are in good condition,” it added.

(Additional reporting by Fabian Cambero in Santiago, editing by Deepa Babington)