Hail damage leaves big dent on American Airlines Dreamliner

One of American Airlines' brand-new Dreamliners was damaged by hail and had to return to Beijing shortly after takeoff Monday. The incident left what appeared to be a large dent in the jet's nose area.

The incident drew attention via social media, where a photo of the aircraft circulated on Twitter and elsewhere.

American Airlines confirmed the incident, issuing the following statement to Today in the Sky:

"American Airlines Flight 88, a flight from Beijing Capital International Airport to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, returned to Beijing due to damage sustained by weather in flight. The Boeing 787, with 209 passengers and a crew of 13, is currently being evaluated by our maintenance team."

American spokeswoman Andrea Huguely said on Tuesday that repair work was underway on the aircraft and that passengers from Monday's flight had been accommodated on other flights.

American currently has seven 787-8 models of Boeing's Dreamliner in its fleet. The Associated Press says the 787s "carry a list price of $224.6 million each after a recent 2.9% price hike. Airlines, however, routinely get big discounts."

ARCHIVES:First Dreamliner passengers sing new jet's praises (October 2011)

American took delivery of its first Dreamliner in April. The carrier began flying paying passengers on the jet in May on domestic routes before shifting it to mostly international service in June. In addition to Beijing, American also uses its Dreamliners for flights to Buenos Aires, Tokyo and Shanghai.

Boeing's Dreamliner flew its first regularly scheduled passenger flight in October 2011, operating on a round-trip between Tokyo and Hong Kong on Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways.

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