Pilot Injured as United Airlines Flight Lands After Windshield Cracks

Salt Lake City, Utah — A United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 was forced to make an emergency landing on October 16 after its windshield cracked midair, injuring one of the pilots. The flight, UA1093, was traveling from Denver to Los Angeles and had 140 passengers and crew members on board.

At approximately 36,000 feet, the crew detected damage to the cockpit windshield. They decided to initiate a controlled descent to 26,000 feet and safely landed at Salt Lake City International Airport while the plane was around 322 kilometers southeast of the city.

After the emergency landing, passengers were rebooked onto another aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX 9, and reached Los Angeles with a delay of roughly six hours. United Airlines confirmed that while there were no injuries among passengers, one pilot sustained minor bruising.

Images shared online appear to show burn marks on the shattered section of the windshield, indicating that the damage might not be due to a typical structural failure. Aviation experts speculate that the windshield may have been struck by high-speed space debris or a small meteorite, based on the scorch marks observed.

Usually, aircraft windshields are designed to handle extreme pressure and bird strikes, but an object traveling at high speeds could exceed those limits. United Airlines has not yet commented on the cause of the windshield crack.

In an unrelated incident on October 18, another United aircraft struck the tail of a stationary plane while taxiing at Chicago‘s O'Hare Airport. No injuries were reported in that case, and all 113 passengers safely disembarked.