US Flights Experience Close Calls Over the Weekend

— -- It was a white-knuckle weekend for fliers in the U.S.

A Las Vegas-bound Delta flight made an unexpected landing in Omaha on Saturday, authorities said. No one was injured and the cause was not immediately known.

On Sunday, over Indianapolis, a Chicago-bound United Express jet suffered a mechanical issue and rapidly dropped to 10,000 feet, authorities said. The pilot declared an emergency landing and three people treated for minor injuries.

“It may be a little bit uncomfortable, it may be a little bit scary,” said aviation expert Steve Ganyard. "It's the first time you've put on an oxygen mask, and there may be a fairly steep descent while the pilots get the airplane down to 10,000 feet.”

These incidents followed the nightmarish moments on a Boston-bound flight from Salt Lake City when a Delta Airbus A320 ran head-on into a grapefruit-sized hail storm.

The hail pummeled the aircraft, cracking the outer windshield and denting the nose, authorities said. Despite the pilots being unable to see, they landed the plane safely in Denver.

"I didn't realize that we were in as much danger as we were,” said Beau Sorenson, a passenger on that flight, “until we got on the ground and actually saw the damage, and then I realized we were lucky to be alive."