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US plane made emergency landing after being struck by foreign object

David Benjamin
A United Airlines pilot was injured and forced to make an emergency landing after a mystery object smashed the windshield of a Boeing 737 at 36,000 feet. Photos circulating online reportedly show the pilot?s arms bleeding and bruised, with injuries consistent with glass cuts. Broken glass also covered the dashboard and cockpit. Other photos show what appear to be scorch marks at the point of impact.
A US plane was forced to make an emergency landing after a foreign object struck the windshield mid-flight. It happened during a United Airlines flight from Denver to Los Angeles, but the incident has drawn attention in the the aviation community for its rarity. So, what happened? 
Cockpit of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplane with the flight testing console attached to the main glareshield of the airplane.
The flight, UA1093, was operated by a Boeing 737 MAX 8 and was flying around 36,000 feet on October 16, 2025, when the cockpit windshield suddenly fractured. The pilot reportedly suffered cuts to his arm, however, none of the other 130 people on board were harmed. The plane had to divert to Salt Lake City and is now currently undergoing repairs. (Picture: Funforme3)
A United Airlines pilot was injured and forced to make an emergency landing after a mystery object smashed the windshield of a Boeing 737 at 36,000 feet. Photos circulating online reportedly show the pilot?s arms bleeding and bruised, with injuries consistent with glass cuts. Broken glass also covered the dashboard and cockpit. Other photos show what appear to be scorch marks at the point of impact.
United Airlines said: ‘On Thursday, United flight 1093 landed safely in Salt Lake City to address damage to its multilayered windshield. 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.’ At the height the plane was cruising, it was unlikely to hit birds or hail, so it is thought that space debris like meteorites or low-Earth orbit objects like old satellites falling through the atmosphere may have crashed into the plane.
A United Airlines pilot was injured and forced to make an emergency landing after a mystery object smashed the windshield of a Boeing 737 at 36,000 feet. Photos circulating online reportedly show the pilot?s arms bleeding and bruised, with injuries consistent with glass cuts. Broken glass also covered the dashboard and cockpit. Other photos show what appear to be scorch marks at the point of impact.
However, a statement from weatherballoon company WindBorne said: ‘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. We are grateful that to our knowledge there were no serious injuries and no loss of pressurization. The flight, which was en route from Denver to Los Angeles, diverted to Salt Lake City. The plane itself later flew to Chicago.’
A United Airlines pilot was injured and forced to make an emergency landing after a mystery object smashed the windshield of a Boeing 737 at 36,000 feet. Photos circulating online reportedly show the pilot?s arms bleeding and bruised, with injuries consistent with glass cuts. Broken glass also covered the dashboard and cockpit. Other photos show what appear to be scorch marks at the point of impact.
Windborne said that it is working with both the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to further investigate the incident. CEO and co-founder of WindBorne Systems John Dean took to social media and said: ‘I think this was a WindBorne balloon. We learned about UA1093 and the potential that it was related to one of our balloons at 11 pm PT on Sunday and immediately looked into it. At 6 am PT, we sent our preliminary investigation to both NTSB and FAA, and are working with both of them to investigate further.’ Although he says his balloons are ‘designed to not pose a risk to human life’ he’s ‘not okay’ with the alleged collision causing the pilot’s injury.
A 2023 report from the Federal Aviation Administration estimated that there is a one trillion to one probability of a piece of space debris fatally damaging an aircraft but that the number of hazardous fragments surviving reentries each year will reach 28,000 by 2035. As Smithsonian astrophysicist Dr Jonathan McDowell spoke about Starlink Satellites that are falling out of the sky at a rate of one or two a day. (Picture: Getty)
The issue highlights how Low Earth Orbit is getting more crowded, resulting in a lot more satellite casualties. Starlink’s satellites have a short lifespan of around 5 years, where after they are guided towards the Earth, where they’re supposed to burn up upon re-entering the atmosphere; however, this is causing a lot of pollution. It is also something researchers are worried about as these falling satellites could damage buildings or hurt someone. (Picture: Getty)

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