SALT LAKE CITY — A weather balloon may be responsible for cracking the windshield of a United Airlines plane that took off from Denver and was forced to divert to Salt Lake City last week.
The Boeing 737-8 departed Denver International Airport at 5:51 a.m. Thursday, bound for Los Angeles. While cruising over eastern Utah, a crack developed in the windscreen, prompting the crew to divert to Salt Lake City and land as a precaution.
There were 134 passengers and six crew members on board, and no injuries were reported, the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed.
WindBorne Systems, which operates “long-duration smart weather balloons,” said it is likely that one of its balloons struck the plane. The company said it is now working with the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate the incident.
WindBorne also announced it is changing its flight operations to reduce the risk of similar collisions.
"We immediately rolled out changes to minimize time spent between 30,000 and 40,000 feet. These changes are already live with immediate effect," the company said. "Additionally, we are further accelerating our plans to use live flight data to autonomously avoid planes, even if the planes are at a non-standard altitude. We are also actively working on new hardware designs to further reduce impact force magnitude and concentration.
According to investigators, commercial aircraft windshields are built with multiple layers so that the plane can continue flying safely even if one layer is damaged.