Can Planes Fly In Hail? | What Pilots Try To Avoid

Yes, planes can fly in hail, but crews avoid hail cells because even short exposure can damage the nose, windshield, engines, and leading edges.

Hail sounds like the sort of weather that would stop every flight on the spot. It doesn’t always work that way. Airliners are built for rough air, heavy rain, and a wide range of weather. That said, hail is one of the things pilots and dispatchers work hard to stay away from, since it can strike fast and do real damage before anyone on board feels much at all.

If you’re flying on a stormy day, that’s the part that matters most. A plane does not need to be parked just because hail exists somewhere in the region. What matters is where the hail is, how strong the storm is, how close the route comes to it, and whether the crew has enough room to go around it. In plenty of cases, the flight still goes ahead with a reroute, a delay, or a different climb path.

The short version is simple: planes can fly in hail, but they are not meant to plow through hail-producing thunderstorms as if nothing is there. Airline crews, dispatch teams, and air traffic control all work to keep the aircraft clear of the worst convective weather. That’s why a stormy day often turns into gate holds, longer routes, and bumpy arrivals.

Why Hail Is Such A Problem For Aircraft

Hail is not just frozen rain. Inside a thunderstorm, strong updrafts can keep ice aloft long enough for it to grow, harden, and move around the storm in ways that make it tough to judge from the cabin window. A storm can be throwing out hail in one area while rain falls at the ground somewhere else. That gap between what passengers see and what crews know is one reason storm flying feels so mysterious from a seat in row 22.

For an aircraft, the trouble starts with speed. A hailstone does not need to be giant to hit with force when a jet is moving at high speed. Small hail can chip paint and dent leading edges. Larger stones can crack a windscreen, batter the radome, damage fan blades, pit the nose, and strike lights, sensors, or wing surfaces.

The FAA’s thunderstorm material warns that pilots should expect hail with any thunderstorm and notes that hailstones larger than one-half inch can damage an aircraft in only a few seconds. That warning tells you a lot about how crews think about this risk. They do not wait around to see whether a storm is “only rain.” If the cell has the structure to hold hail aloft, they treat it with respect.

Hail also tends to travel with other rough weather. A plane near hail may also face turbulence, heavy rain, wind shear, lightning, sharp pressure changes, and poor visibility. So the danger is not just the ice itself. It is the whole package that comes with a mature thunderstorm.

Can Planes Fly In Hail? What Changes In The Cockpit

Yes, a plane can still be airborne when hail is around. The real question is whether the crew can stay out of the hail core. In normal airline operations, that is the target. Pilots use onboard weather radar, dispatch weather products, and controller help to pick a path around storm cells instead of through them.

That may mean a wider turn, a temporary altitude change, a slower pushback, or sitting on the ground while a storm line moves off the departure path. It may also mean a missed approach and another try later if a cell is sitting over the final approach path. From the passenger side, those moves can feel annoying. From the flight deck side, they are routine storm tactics.

There is also a big difference between light hail exposure and flying straight into a mature thunderstorm core. Modern airliners have strength margins, but that should not be confused with “hail proof.” Crews are trained to avoid thunderstorm penetration when they can, since even a strong aircraft can take ugly damage from a bad encounter.

That is why a flight can be safe and still delayed. The safest call is often not cancellation and not “full speed ahead,” but a boring middle option: wait, reroute, then go.

Where Hail Causes The Most Trouble During A Flight

Hail risk is not spread evenly through a trip. Some phases of flight create more exposure than others because the aircraft has fewer path choices or less room to maneuver. Departure and arrival are the big ones.

Takeoff And Initial Climb

During takeoff, the plane is tied to a runway and an initial departure path. If a storm is near the airport, there may not be much flexibility until the aircraft gets cleaned up and climbing. That is one reason gate delays pile up when summer storms sit near busy hubs. The airport may still be open, yet the safe departure window shrinks.

Approach And Landing

Arrival can be even tougher. The aircraft needs to line up with a runway, descend into lower weather, and stay inside airspace that may already be packed with other traffic. If hail or a thunderstorm is near the final approach course, crews may hold, divert, or abandon the approach. Landing in rough convective weather is not just a comfort issue. Wind shifts and visibility can change fast near the runway.

Cruise Flight

At cruise altitude, pilots usually have more room to deviate. That said, large storm systems can reach high flight levels and spread hazards far from the brightest radar returns. Anvils can extend out from the main cell, and hail can exist near strong convective areas even when the ride has not turned ugly yet.

Flight phase	Why hail is a concern	Typical crew response
At the gate	Ramp work slows, storm track may cross the departure corridor	Delay boarding, fueling, or pushback until the path improves
Taxi	Storm movement can change runway use and departure timing	Hold short, return to gate, or wait for a new release time
Takeoff roll	Little room to dodge once committed	Pause departures if the cell nears the airport
Initial climb	Limited turning room while close to terrain and traffic	Use assigned deviations or stay on the ground longer
Cruise	Storm tops, anvils, and hidden hail zones can spread wide	Deviate around cells using radar and dispatch input
Descent	Weather near the airport narrows route choices	Slow the arrival, hold, or divert
Final approach	Low altitude plus wind shifts, rain, and hail near the runway	Go around or wait for a better opening
On the ground after landing	Parked aircraft can still take hail strikes	Move aircraft if possible or inspect for damage later

How Pilots And Airlines Stay Away From Hail

Airline flying is full of weather planning long before the cabin door closes. Dispatchers review convective forecasts, route impacts, and airport conditions. Pilots review radar pictures, forecast products, and recent ride reports. Air traffic control then adds the live traffic picture and may issue reroutes or spacing changes to keep aircraft clear of storm clusters.

In the United States, crews also lean on official aviation weather tools and advisories. The Aviation Weather Center lays out products such as SIGMETs, convective forecasts, METARs, TAFs, and graphical aviation weather views that help crews judge where hazardous weather is building and where there is room to route around it.

On board, weather radar gives another layer of defense. Pilots tilt and read the radar to judge storm shape and intensity, then pick a route that leaves room around the worst echoes. That point matters. They are not merely trying to miss the bright red center by a hair. They want space. Thunderstorms can throw rough air, heavy precipitation, and hail farther out than passengers might expect.

The FAA’s thunderstorm guidance tells pilots to avoid severe thunderstorms by at least 20 miles and to be wary under the anvil of a large cumulonimbus. That does not mean every airline will always get a full 20-mile buffer in every crowded airspace situation. It does show the mindset: distance is part of the safety margin, not an optional extra.

This is also why you may sit on a plane while nothing dramatic seems to be happening outside. The crew may be waiting for a line of cells to shift just enough to create a clean exit path, or for the arrival queue to settle after other aircraft diverted around the same storms.

What Happens If A Plane Does Hit Hail

Not every hail encounter turns into an emergency. Some are mild and result in nothing more than a maintenance inspection after landing. Others leave visible dents, chipped paint, or a rough radome that still allows the flight to continue safely to a nearby airport. The outcome depends on hail size, aircraft speed, location of the strike, and how long the aircraft stayed in it.

When the encounter is harder, the flight crew may declare an emergency, reduce speed, ask for priority handling, or divert to the nearest suitable airport. A cracked windscreen, damaged nose radome, engine vibration, or instrument issues can all change the plan fast. Even when the airplane remains controllable, crews do not guess with damage.

Passengers often notice the sound first. Hail can hit the fuselage with sharp, loud impacts that feel worse than regular turbulence. The cabin crew may be told to sit down at once, and service stops. That does not always mean the airplane is in grave danger. It means the flight deck wants everyone secured while they work the weather and the aircraft.

Possible hail effect	What it can damage	Likely next step
Light pitting or dents	Paint, nose, wing leading edges	Continue if systems are normal, then inspect on arrival
Cracked outer windshield layer	Flight deck windshield	Land as soon as practical and inspect
Radome damage	Nose cone covering the weather radar	Check radar performance and divert if needed
Engine ingestion damage	Fan blades or compressor sections	Reduce thrust, monitor, divert, inspect
Sensor or light damage	Probes, landing lights, exterior fittings	Use backup procedures and maintenance checks
Heavy combined storm effects	Aircraft structure plus handling margin	Priority landing or emergency handling

Why Flights Get Delayed Even When The Plane Could Technically Fly

This is where travelers get tripped up. “Can it fly?” and “Will the airline launch right now?” are not the same thing. A jet can be airworthy while the planned route is still a bad idea. Airlines are not trying to prove toughness against a thunderstorm. They are trying to move the flight with sensible margins.

A hail-producing storm near one airport can also ripple across the whole network. Arrivals hold, departure slots slide, crews time out, gates stay occupied, and the next aircraft for your trip shows up late. That domino effect is why your sunny departure city can still post a weather delay tied to storms two states away.

Storm delays also protect the aircraft itself. A single hail strike event can trigger inspections, repairs, and schedule disruption that costs far more than a short hold at the gate. Airlines would rather lose an hour than lose an airplane for maintenance.

What Passengers Should Expect On A Stormy Travel Day

If hail is part of the forecast, the smoothest trip is usually the one that stays flexible. Flights may board late, depart from a new runway, take a longer path, or pause in the air before landing. None of that means your crew is unsure what to do. It usually means they are threading the safest route through a messy weather picture.

If the ride turns rough, keep your seat belt on even when the sign is off. Storm air can change fast near convective weather, and the jolt that catches people is often the one that comes after a few quiet minutes. Also charge your phone when you can and keep any medicine or daily items in your carry-on if a diversion becomes part of the story.

Most storm days end with nothing more dramatic than a delay and a worn-out arrival. That is good news. When crews keep their distance from hail cells, the system is doing what it is meant to do.

Flying Through Hail Risks During Storm Season

Storm season brings the question back every year because passengers see towering clouds and hear stories about aircraft damage. The truth sits in the middle. Planes are not delicate, and pilots are not helpless around bad weather. At the same time, hail is not treated like a minor nuisance. It is a real aircraft hazard tied to thunderstorms that crews plan around on purpose.

The FAA’s thunderstorm guidance makes that plain in black and white. It describes thunderstorms as hazardous to aviation, notes that hail can damage an aircraft in seconds, and urges wide avoidance of severe cells. You can read that guidance in the FAA thunderstorm advisory circular, which lays out the weather threats pilots train for and the spacing they try to keep from strong storm activity.

So, can planes fly in hail? Yes. Do crews want to? No. The whole operation is built around not needing to. If your flight is delayed while a storm line drifts off the airport, that delay is often a sign the system worked the way it should.