‘Scariest flight of my life’: Hail smashes nose of jet that flew into storm

DALLAS — An American Airlines flight from San Antonio to Phoenix made an emergency landing in El Paso on Sunday night after severe weather damaged the plane.

None of the 130 passengers or five crew members on Flight 1897 reported injuries, according the the Fort Worth-based airline, though multiple passengers threw up.

"I'm on this flight that emergency landed. Things were flying. Passengers throwing up. Scariest flight of my life," one passenger tweeted.

One pilot could hardly see through the windshield, The Associated Press reported.

The flight ran into a strong storm over New Mexico and turned south to land in Texas.

"We could hear the hail hitting the plane," passenger Jesus Esparza told KENS-TV. "[The turbulence was] like a rollercoaster."

"It was by far one of the most terrifying experiences I've ever been through," he said.

American's maintenance team is evaluating the Airbus A319, which needs repairs to its nose, windshield panels and a cockpit side window, a spokesman said.

Passengers were put on another plane that arrived in Phoenix about four hours after the emergency landing.

American Airlines apologized after the incident in a statement to the El Paso Times:

American Airlines flight 1897, from San Antonio to Phoenix, diverted to El Paso due to damage sustained by weather in flight. We commend the great work of our pilots, along with our flight attendants, who safely landed the Airbus A319 at 8:03 p.m. The aircraft is currently being evaluated by our maintenance team. We never want to disrupt our customers' travel plans, and we are sorry for the trouble this caused.