United Airlines Flight Diverts Due to Cracked Windshield
A United Airlines flight had to divert to Salt Lake City last week after a cracked windshield, which officials believe might’ve been caused by a collision with a weather balloon while flying at an altitude of 36,000 feet.
This event took place on October 16, as United Airlines Flight 1093 travelled from Denver to Los Angeles.
The airline confirmed, “On Thursday, United Airlines Flight 1093 landed safely in Salt Lake City to address damage to its multi-layer windshield. We arranged for the customer to fly to Los Angeles on another aircraft the same day. Our maintenance team is working to return the aircraft to service.”
At the time of the incident, there were 134 passengers and six crew members aboard the Boeing 737 MAX 8.
Passenger Heather Ramsey recalled, “When the pilot made his first emergency broadcast, he said the cockpit window was broken. Those were his exact words.” There were some rumors suggesting the plane might have hit space debris, but it seems more likely that it was a weather balloon.
Windborne Systems, a California company known for smart weather balloons, has indicated that one of their balloons might have caused the damage.
The airline noted that, “On Thursday, October 16, foreign object debris (FOD) impacted the windshield of the 737 MAX aircraft UA1093 at about 36,000 feet. Windborne began investigating this incident on Sunday, October 19, and FOD suggests it was likely a Windborne balloon.”
The company has submitted a preliminary investigation report to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and is collaborating with both organizations.
“We are relieved that, to our knowledge, there were no significant injuries or loss of pressure,” the company stated.
Officials from WindBorne mentioned that they have conducted thousands of balloon launches and have consistently coordinated with the FAA throughout their operational history.
They added that their system is designed to withstand mid-air collisions.
The company stated they are “working closely with the FAA on this matter,” and have already implemented changes to reduce the time spent between 30,000 and 40,000 feet. They are also aiming to utilize live flight data for autonomous avoidance of other aircraft, even at non-standard altitudes, alongside developing new hardware to minimize impact forces.
