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B727 aircraft, still at gate when thunderstorm passed over airport with hail. Flight crew checked aircraft for damage but found none. Later flight crew was notified that there had been damage to the upper aircraft surfaces. They borrowed a ladder from a fueler to locate the damage on top of 1 inboard aileron.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 403100 |
| Time | |
| Date | 199805 |
| Day | Fri |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801 To 2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : msp |
| State Reference | MN |
| Altitude | agl bound lower : 0 agl bound upper : 0 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | Mixed |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | B727 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | climbout : takeoff ground : preflight landing other |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : first officer |
| Qualification | pilot : flight engineer pilot : atp |
| ASRS Report | 403100 |
| Person 2 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : captain oversight : pic |
| Qualification | pilot : atp |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | aircraft equipment problem : less severe other anomaly other |
| Independent Detector | other other : unspecified |
| Resolutory Action | none taken : detected after the fact |
| Consequence | other |
| Supplementary | |
| Primary Problem | Weather |
| Air Traffic Incident | other |
Narrative:
Area of thunderstorms passed over airport while I was in gate area of terminal. Heavy rain and wind noted with very brief hail which did not appear very large or last longer than 1 min. Boarded aircraft after storm, preflted and flew flight msp- geg. Notified en route via ACARS that hail damage inspection to be performed in geg, overnight. Since no damage was observed during inspection in msp, thought nothing of it. Notified on may/xa/98 that damage was found. All 3 crew walked around aircraft but could find no damage until a ladder was borrowed from the local fueler. 1 damaged spot was found on top of 1 inboard aileron upon close inspection from top of wing (about 1 inch long). At no time during the flight was anything abnormal experienced. In 16 yrs of flying boeing aircraft, I have never encountered hail damage to an aircraft not in flight and had no reason to suspect damage in this case.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: B727 ACFT, STILL AT GATE WHEN TSTM PASSED OVER ARPT WITH HAIL. FLC CHKED ACFT FOR DAMAGE BUT FOUND NONE. LATER FLC WAS NOTIFIED THAT THERE HAD BEEN DAMAGE TO THE UPPER ACFT SURFACES. THEY BORROWED A LADDER FROM A FUELER TO LOCATE THE DAMAGE ON TOP OF 1 INBOARD AILERON.
Narrative: AREA OF TSTMS PASSED OVER ARPT WHILE I WAS IN GATE AREA OF TERMINAL. HVY RAIN AND WIND NOTED WITH VERY BRIEF HAIL WHICH DID NOT APPEAR VERY LARGE OR LAST LONGER THAN 1 MIN. BOARDED ACFT AFTER STORM, PREFLTED AND FLEW FLT MSP- GEG. NOTIFIED ENRTE VIA ACARS THAT HAIL DAMAGE INSPECTION TO BE PERFORMED IN GEG, OVERNIGHT. SINCE NO DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED DURING INSPECTION IN MSP, THOUGHT NOTHING OF IT. NOTIFIED ON MAY/XA/98 THAT DAMAGE WAS FOUND. ALL 3 CREW WALKED AROUND ACFT BUT COULD FIND NO DAMAGE UNTIL A LADDER WAS BORROWED FROM THE LCL FUELER. 1 DAMAGED SPOT WAS FOUND ON TOP OF 1 INBOARD AILERON UPON CLOSE INSPECTION FROM TOP OF WING (ABOUT 1 INCH LONG). AT NO TIME DURING THE FLT WAS ANYTHING ABNORMAL EXPERIENCED. IN 16 YRS OF FLYING BOEING ACFT, I HAVE NEVER ENCOUNTERED HAIL DAMAGE TO AN ACFT NOT IN FLT AND HAD NO REASON TO SUSPECT DAMAGE IN THIS CASE.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.