Alaska Airlines Flight Takes Serious Damage During Landing Amid Tropical Storm Hilary

Passengers on an Alaska Airlines flight in CA had a frightening landing during Tropical Storm Hilary ... the plane took a ton of damage during its descent, causing sparks to fly.

The whole thing went down at Santa Ana's John Wayne Airport Sunday night, as Hilary's rainfall and winds were still going strong.

The pilots were already fighting the strong gusts and downpours, and by the time the wheels hit the ground, the left wing went down with it.

The Boeing 737-800's landing got intense and bumpy ... sparks and smoke can be seen coming out, and some folks onboard can be heard screaming and crying, including a child.

16-year-old passenger Abhi Amineni told KCAL News the aircraft was shaking when it began the final descent and claimed there was no "brace for impact" warning before touching down.

The damage looks pretty rough on the outside of the plane ... and it appears the left turbine fully touched the tarmac while landing, likely where the sparks came from.

You'll recall, the tropical storm was pretty intense for SoCal residents throughout Sunday -- it prompted shutdowns for LAUSD schools, flights in certain airports, and even DoorDash suspended deliveries while the storm passed.