United Airlines Pilot Injured After Windshield Incident at 36,000 Feet; Possible Space Debris Strike Suspected

A United Airlines flight from Denver to Los Angeles was forced to divert on Thursday, October 16, after the windshield of its Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft cracked at cruising altitude, injuring one of the pilots. The aircraft, operating as flight UA1093, was carrying 140 passengers and crew when the incident occurred approximately 200 miles southeast of Salt Lake City at 36,000 feet.

According to reports, the crew initiated an emergency descent to 26,000 feet before diverting to Salt Lake City, where the aircraft landed safely on runway 16L about 50 minutes after the windshield damage was detected.

The cause of the windshield crack remains under investigation. The captain reportedly saw an object approaching the aircraft and speculated it could have been space debris or a small meteorite. A 2023 FAA report estimated the annual global risk of space debris causing injury to be less than one in a trillion per passenger.

United Airlines stated that the damage affected only one layer of the aircraft’s multi-ply windshield, which is designed to withstand high-altitude stressors such as hail. The aircraft, registered N17327, remained grounded in Salt Lake City for inspection more than 24 hours after the incident/

Passengers were rebooked on a replacement Boeing 737 MAX 9 and arrived in Los Angeles with a delay of approximately six hours. No other injuries were reported.