Los Angeles: One of the pilots was injured when the windshield of a United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight traveling from Denver to Los Angeles cracked in mid-air.
Flight UA1093, carrying 140 passengers and crew, was flying at an altitude of 36,000 feet when the damage occurred.
According to reports, the plane descended to an altitude of 26,000 feet before landing safely at Salt Lake City International Airport. The passengers were then rebooked on another plane, a Boeing 737 MAX 9, and reached Los Angeles after a six-hour delay.
Why did the windshield crack?
While the windshield crack is rare, such incidents have happened in aviation before. But the cause of the windshield crack in this incident and the details surrounding the pilots' injuries make the case unusual.
Images shared online show burn marks on the cracked windshield and bruises on one of the pilots' arms, suggesting this was not a regular structural crack.
The crew noticed the damage when the plane was about 200 miles southeast of Salt Lake City and decided to divert the plane. The pilots quickly followed emergency procedures needed to land safely.
Aviation enthusiasts who analyzed the incident, noting the marks and the unusual damage pattern on the windshield, believe that the incident was caused by space debris or a small meteorite.
Typically, airplane windshields are designed to withstand bird strikes and major pressure changes, but an object moving at high speed can easily break through the cracks.
United Airlines confirmed that no passengers were injured in the incident. The pilot is understood to have survived with minor injuries. The airline has not yet commented on what caused the crack.