A Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Washington made an emergency landing in Denver on Thursday after the plane’s windshield was shattered in mid-air.
After the crew of Delta Flight 760 “declared an emergency due to a cracked windshield,” the flight landed safely at Denver International Airport around 11 a.m. local time, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. What caused the windshield to crack is not yet known, but the FAA said it would investigate.
Melissa B. Long, a spokeswoman for Delta, confirmed that the plane, a Boeing 757, had a “maintenance problem” in-flight. but offered no information on when the windshield started cracking or why.
“As a precaution, the flight crew has been diverted to Denver and the plane has routinely landed,” Ms Long said in a statement on Saturday. “Our team worked quickly to accommodate customers on a new plane, and we sincerely apologize for the delay and inconvenience of their travel plans.”
A photo of a cockpit posted on Twitter shows a windshield lined with multiple breaks and cracks but still held in its frame.
According to KUTV, a CBS affiliate in Salt Lake City, one of the 198 passengers on board the flight said that about 90 minutes after takeoff, the plane was announced to be landing in Denver.
“They came over the speaker and said the windshield was shattered and we had to divert to Denver in about 10 minutes,” the passenger, Rachel Wright, told KUTV. “I was sure I had heard them wrong, but I wasn’t.”
She said the crew had asked passengers to remain calm during the diversion.
“They kept saying everyone should stay calm, stay calm, and we were calm, so when we were told to stay calm while we were calm, we felt a little panicky,” Ms. Wright told KUTV.
Cockpit windshields usually contain two panes of thick glass with a plastic layer in between for both heating and for anti-icing and anti-fog systems, John Cox, a former US Airways captain, wrote in a USA Today column about airplanes in 2019. He said that in the event of shattering or breaking, both panes are able to hold full pressure if the other is lost or broken.
He added that heating problems are usually the cause when the outer pane of a cockpit’s windshield cracks, forming cobweb-like patterns on the glass. According to Mr Cox, windshields are more likely to crack when an aircraft climbs than during other phases of a flight, but he has heard of several pilots who have experienced cracked windshields at cruising altitude.
Aircraft are designed to stay safe if a windshield or cabin window bursts, he said. “Although this happens occasionally,” wrote Mr. Cox in USA Today, “it’s rare.” Most pilots will descend to relieve pressure and plan a diversion if necessary.