United Airlines flight suffers cracked windshield mid-flight

Investigations are underway after the windshield on a Boeing 737 cracked mid-flight, causing an unexpected landing in Salt Lake City.

United flight 1039 from Denver to Los Angeles made the diversion on Thursday, 16 October, to address damage to its multilayered windshield.

After landing safely, United Airlines said it arranged for another aircraft to take the 134 passengers on board to Los Angeles later that day.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it is currently investigating the cracked windshield, which was damaged while flying near Moab, Utah.

The NTSB said it is gathering radar, weather and flight recorder data, while the windshield is being sent to NTSB laboratories for examination.

Meanwhile, United Airlines added that its maintenance team is working to return the aircraft to service.

The flight, which usually takes around two hours, was cut short just under halfway into the journey.

The Boeing 737 was flying near Capitol Reef National Park when the plane made a sharp turn and flew north to Salt Lake City.

The 6am flight landed at 7.30am in the Utah capital, with a replacement flight departing just before 1pm to complete the rest of the flight, landing in Los Angeles an hour and a half later.

Aircraft windshields are designed to function safely in case any layer sustains damage.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says that cracks can happen across all plane models and generally, when they occur, it is on the glass pane on the outside, which serves as a protective covering for the several layers underneath.

Windshields are around two to three inches thick with several layers. The FAA says cracks occur more often than passengers realise.

An aircraft carrying the Nigerian men’s national football team was forced to make an emergency landing Angola after its windshield cracked mid-flight earlier this month.

The flight from Polokwane, South Africa, to Uyo, Nigeria, made an unscheduled landing back in the Angolan capital of Luanda just 25 minutes after takeoff on 11 October.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said the aircraft suffered a “cracked windscreen mid-air” after a routine refuelling stop in Luanda, reported The Standard.

Read more: Nigeria team plane forced into emergency landing after suffering damage mid-air