United Airlines Makes Emergency Landing After Pilot Is Injured After Mystery Object Smashes Windshield at 36,000 Feet

[question everything]

Source: International Business Times

A United Airlines pilot was injured and had to make an emergency landing after an unidentified object shattered the windshield of a Boeing 737 flying at 36,000 feet. Photos shared online reportedly show the pilot's arms covered in blood and bruises, with wounds that look like they were caused by shattered glass.

The cockpit and dashboard were littered with broken glass, and other images appeared to show burn marks where the object struck. United Flight 1093, which was traveling from Denver to Los Angeles, was forced to make an emergency landing in Salt Lake City on Thursday. The condition of the pilot is still not known, with more details awaited.

Some people online speculated that the damage might have been caused by space debris or even a meteor striking the jet. However, according to a 2023 report from the Federal Aviation Administration, the odds of space debris seriously injuring someone on a commercial flight are about one in a trillion.

Experts said the cracked windshield could have resulted from an electrical issue, but the scorch marks and shattered glass suggest the plane was actually struck by something. Usually, planes encounter birds, hail, or other objects only when flying at lower altitudes. What makes this case unusual is that the Boeing 737 MAX 8 was cruising high above those risks when the incident happened.


Read more: https://www.ibtimes.sg/united-airlines-makes-emergency-landing-after-pilot-injured-after-mystery-object-smashes-82085

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A photo of the scratches to the pilot’s arm at the link

[lapfog_1]

1. Starlink possible

they have been failing right and left.

[DBoon]

3. space junk was mentioned as a possible cause

And at thr risk of insulting Elon's manhood, a piece of Starlink certainly qualifies as "space junk"

[Shellback Squid]

4. my thought, hopefully some debris survived

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. A wannabe king was cruising higher and released a load of crap.

The No Kings protests are scaring the crap out of him. Keep them going.

[DavidDvorkin]

5. Avi Loeb says it was aliens

I made that up, but it wouldn't surprise me.

[3Hotdogs]

6. Try, Israeli space laser.

[Baitball Blogger]

7. One of Elon Musk's satellites falling apart?

[orangecrush]

8. Some idiots drone

And yes, they can go that high

[markodochartaigh]

9. There have been incidents with

Russian drones around airports in Europe lately.

[RainCaster]

10. Here's a voice of reason- hail

https://viewfromthewing.com/new-cockpit-photos-may-show-what-struck-the-united-737-injuring-a-pilot-and-sparking-space-debris-fears/

Lots more details in the article, but this appears to be the synopsis.

The impact signature and radome peppering appear to be textbook hail. That’s not something you usually see at 36,000 feet, but here’s an FAA circular talking about hail and thunderstorms above 35,000 feet. Hail can be ejected and fall well away from a storm’s core, often in apparently clear air.

[taxi]

13. That stands to reason except for the burn marks. nt

[Warpy]

11. One of Musk's Starlink satellites?

It's as good an explanation as anything else. Could have been anything from a stratospheric ice chunk to a very small meteor. Or it could have been any otjher sizable piece of space junk. There's certainly enough ot it up there.

[LudwigPastorius]

12. It was a flaming Flying Fickle Finger of Fate.

[Historic NY]

14. There been small meteor activity reported

in the night sky recently. They do fall in daylight also

[taxi]

15. And the survey says,

Number 1 answer

[James48]

16. Drones are possible.

They are out there.

[slightlv]

17. Anywhere near where missiles were flying?

[2naSalit]

18. I'm going to go with...

Felon's space trash falling from the sky. At a rate of 4 - 5 a day, the odds are getting more favorable for this sort of thing to occur.