A United 737 MAX 8 flying from Denver to Los Angeles was forced to make an emergency landing after the cockpit’s windscreen cracked.
United Flight 1093 diverted to Salt Lake City and landed safely on Thursday after the cracked windscreen was reported at cruise altitude over Moab, Utah, the NTSB said in a statement. Investigators are gathering radar, weather, and flight recorder data, the agency said, and the damaged windscreen is being sent to a lab for examination.
“On Thursday, United flight 1093 landed safely in Salt Lake City to address damage to its multilayered windshield,” United said in a statement. “We arranged for another aircraft to take customers to Los Angeles later that day and our maintenance team is working to return the aircraft to service.”
The New York Post reported Sunday that one of the pilots was injured when an unidentified object struck the windscreen, and shared an image of a pilot’s bloodied arm that had been circulating on social media. Neither the NTSB nor United has confirmed those details.
Another photo, also unverified, appeared to show scorch marks on the aircraft’s exterior above the windscreen.
The marks, combined with the aircraft’s reported cruise altitude – far higher than most birds can fly – prompted some social media users to speculate that a small meteorite or piece of space debris may have caused the damage.
