Narrative:

On the tyson arrival into las. On this specific arrival the tops ranged from FL200 to FL180; with significantly larger cells to the north and south. However; they were at least 40-50 miles away from our position. We were already deviating off the route for small cells as depicted on the radar. We entered an area to the southeast of tyson intersection; that looking at the radar would keep us clear of the small cells as depicted. We entered the clouds approximately FL190. Descending through approx. FL150 we entered an area of moderate/severe hail for about 10 seconds. The aircraft was clean; slowed to 250 knots with igniters on. The event was over as quick as it started and we were again in VMC conditions; with scattered clouds. ATC was advised. An uneventful landing followed on 25L. Company ops was advised to notify maintenance to standby to inspect aircraft for possible damage. A logbook write-up was made as well as a verbal report to the controlling dispatcher.considering our avoidance efforts; the shape and tops of the clouds and what was being painted on the radar; I still remain stunned that hail to that severity was in the vicinity of the weather we were maneuvering around. When I suggest all reasonable efforts were taken to avoid the severe weather; I mean it sincerely. From the time of the event and now; I have racked my brain on how we could have avoided damage to the aircraft and have come to no viable conclusions.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A321 flight crew encountered large hail at 14;000 feet during descent into LAS. The crew was passing through stratus clouds with no radar returns and no large thunderstorms were in the area. After landing the horizontal stabilizer was found to be badly damaged.

Narrative: On the Tyson arrival into LAS. On this specific arrival the tops ranged from FL200 to FL180; with significantly larger cells to the north and south. However; they were at least 40-50 miles away from our position. We were already deviating off the route for small cells as depicted on the radar. We entered an area to the SE of Tyson Intersection; that looking at the radar would keep us clear of the small cells as depicted. We entered the clouds approximately FL190. Descending through approx. FL150 we entered an area of moderate/severe hail for about 10 seconds. The Aircraft was clean; slowed to 250 knots with igniters on. The event was over as quick as it started and we were again in VMC conditions; with scattered clouds. ATC was advised. An uneventful landing followed on 25L. Company ops was advised to notify maintenance to standby to inspect Aircraft for possible damage. A logbook write-up was made as well as a verbal report to the controlling dispatcher.Considering our avoidance efforts; the shape and tops of the clouds and what was being painted on the radar; I still remain stunned that hail to that severity was in the vicinity of the weather we were maneuvering around. When I suggest all reasonable efforts were taken to avoid the severe weather; I mean it sincerely. From the time of the event and now; I have racked my brain on how we could have avoided damage to the Aircraft and have come to no viable conclusions.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.