The more plane horror stories I read, the more I am thankful that my husband and I had no incidents during our honeymoon. While this story has a relatively happy ending, it is still a terrifying read. Two pilots were showered with glass after their jet collided with an apparent weather balloon. It left the windshield of the plane shattered and the pilot with minor injuries. Fortunately, no one else on the plane was harmed.
Pilots Are 'Showered With Glass' After Collision
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People Magazine reported that new details have emerged about the incident in which a jet collided with a weather balloon. A United Airlines flight was en route from Denver to Los Angeles on Oct. 16 when the unexpected happened. Suddenly, the plane struck an object, and the window partly shattered. The passenger jet was cruising at 36,000 feet when an object unexpectedly made contact with the aircraft and partially shattered the windshield. Once the object struck the aircraft, both pilots were showered with glass. People Magazine shared details from the National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report. The report stated that the captain "sustained minor injuries" after the Boeing 737-8 aircraft collided with an object.
The captain shared that he had noticed the object in the distance on the horizon, but that they made impact before he could mention it to his first officer. Following the impact and the loud bang, the windshield partially shattered. Although the pilot sustained minor injuries, the first officer and all other individuals on board were unharmed. The pilot made an emergency landing in Salt Lake City, Utah. The pilot's injuries were tended to there.
Jet Collided With A Weather Balloon
Although nothing has been confirmed, WindBorne Systems released a statement sharing that the mystery object that collided with the jet could have been one of their weather balloons.
"On Thursday, 16 October, Foreign Object Debris (FOD) struck the windshield of UA1093, a 737 MAX aircraft, at approximately 36,000 ft. WindBorne began investigating this incident at 11pm on Sunday, 19 October, and we believe that the FOD was likely a WindBorne balloon."
Additionally, they share that the investigation is ongoing and that they were grateful that "there were no serious injuries and no loss of pressurization" due to the collision. Furthermore, they argued that the system is "designed to be safe in the event of a midair collision." They are currently working closely with the FAA on the matter and plan to implement changes to help mitigate the chances of further collisions.
