On 4 May, a Brussels Airlines Airbus A330-300 (registration OO-SFE) operating flight SN455 from Brussels (Belgium) to Entebbe (Uganda) via Bujumbura (Burundi) diverted directly to Entebbe, skipping its scheduled stop in Bujumbura.
Photos obtained by Aviation24.be show visible damage to the aircraft, including a broken cockpit window on the captain’s side and noticeable damage to the nose cone.
Brussels Airlines confirmed to Aviation24.be that the aircraft encountered a hailstorm en route, which damaged the cockpit window. “A hailstorm damaged a cockpit window. At this moment, a team of technicians is ready to depart for Entebbe with the necessary equipment to carry out repairs. This will likely take several days,” a spokesperson said.
The aircraft remains grounded in Entebbe as the airline works on repairs. As a result of the incident, Brussels Airlines cancelled flight SN481 from Brussels to Nairobi scheduled for 5 May, likely due to aircraft unavailability.
