A hailstorm severely damaged a Delta Air Lines aircraft, necessitating an emergency landing.
Flight DL185 had just departed for New York’s JFK airport from Milan’s Malpensa airport when it crashed into the storm in Italy.
The Boeing 767 took off, circled Milan, then headed south before making a flawless landing in Rome.
The front nose cone of the aircraft has been blasted through, but other images of the craft reveal holes in the wing and engine.
As it took off on Monday afternoon, a violent thunderstorm was passing through the north of Italy which left much of the region devastated with flash flooding and hailstones the size of tennis balls.
In a statement Delta said:’ The Milan Malpensa to JFK flight was diverted to Rome after it encountered adverse weather after take off.
‘The landing in Rome happened safely without incident and the passengers disembarked normally.
‘The aircraft was damaged because of the weather and is now being examined by maintenance staff.’
Passenger Jeffrey Saunders posted on Twitter: ‘Flight 185 pummelled by hail on take-off. Makes emergency landing Rome. Scary incident.’
One weather expert said: ‘These hailstones can reach weights of 200g and hit speeds of 150kph which will have a devastating impact on anything it hits.’
The storms come amid a north-south divide in Italy where temperatures in the cities of Rome, Naples and on the islands of Sardinia and Sicily touched the upper 40c.