"Images shared on social media showed that one of the two large windows at the front of a 737 MAX aircraft was significantly cracked. Related images also reveal a pilot's arm that has been cut multiple times by what appear to be small shards of glass."
"Images of the strike showed that an object made a forceful impact near the upper-right part of the window, showing damage to the metal frame. Because aircraft windows are multiple layers thick, with laminate in between, the window pane did not shatter completely. The aircraft was flying above 30,000 feet-likely around 36,000 feet-and the cockpit apparently maintained its cabin pressure."
"So was it space debris? It is impossible to know without more data. A very few species of birds can fly above 30,000 feet. However, the world's highest flying bird, Rüppell's vulture, is found mainly in Africa. An unregulated weather balloon is also a possibility, although it's not clear whether the velocity would have been high enough to cause the kind of damage observed. Hail is also a potential culprit."
An airliner was struck by an object in its windscreen mid-flight over Utah during a United Airlines flight from Denver to Los Angeles. One of the front cockpit windows on a 737 MAX was significantly cracked and a pilot's arm sustained multiple cuts from glass shards. The aircraft diverted and landed safely at Salt Lake City International Airport, with cabin pressure apparently maintained at cruising altitude near 36,000 feet. The NTSB is gathering radar, weather, and flight recorder data and has sent the windscreen to laboratories for examination. Potential causes considered include space debris, a meteor, a high-altitude bird, an unregulated weather balloon, or hail.
Read at WIRED
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