Windshield cracks midflight, diverting United Airlines plane; officials investigating

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — Officials are investigating how a windshield cracked during a United Airlines flight from Denver to the Los Angeles International Airport on Oct. 16, officials confirmed to Nexstar’s KTLA on Sunday.

“On Thursday, United flight 1093 landed safely in Salt Lake City to address damage to its multilayered windshield,” a United Airlines representative stated. “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.”

United said there were about 134 customers and 6 crew members aboard the Boeing 737 Max 8 at the time.

The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed its own investigation on Sunday, writing on X that the “cracked windscreen on a Boeing 737-8” was “being sent to NTSB laboratories for examination.”

“Operating as United flight 1093 from DEN to LAX, airplane diverted safely to SLC,” the NTSB added, saying it was “gathering radar, weather, flight recorder data” as well.

While officials did not share or respond to KTLA’s questions about whether anyone was injured when the windscreen cracked, photos shared with KTLA showed what appeared to be a pilot with bloodied cuts or marks on his forearm in the cockpit of the damaged aircraft. Photos of the exterior of the plane show a fully shattered windshield, with apparent contact damage to the top right corner.

Online users who provided the photos said they received the footage directly from people at the scene, but KTLA is still working to independently confirm this information.

United noted that aircraft windshields are designed to function safely in case any layer sustains damage.

No further details were immediately provided.

Earlier this month, a Delta Air Lines jet suffered a shattered cockpit window and a deeply gouged nose after a collision with another Delta Air Lines jet at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.