Hail damages Dreamliner's nose during flight, prompts emergency landing

BEIJING (WABC) -- There was a big scare for passengers aboard an American Airlines flight from Beijing to Dallas early Monday when the plane was forced to turn back after running into a hail storm.

About 45 minutes into the flight, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner hit severe weather, and its nose cone was damaged.

sot: dallas rueschoff:

"All we can tell you is it was just crazy," passenger Dallas Rueschoff said. "We were going sideways, up and down...we dropped a good few hundred feet at least."

The 787 is made out of carbon fiber, a material that is difficult to repair.

Experts say hail can harm a plane's flight control system and engines, even causing it to crash.

Fortunately, none of 222 passengers and crew aboard the Dreamliner was injured.