The cockpit window of a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft belonging to the American airline United Airlines broke during flight. Space debris was blamed for the incident.
The incident occurred on October 16. The Boeing 737 MAX aircraft was flying from Denver to Los Angeles. There were 134 passengers and 6 crew members on board.
At the moment when the aircraft was at an altitude of 36,000 feet (11 km), a crack formed in the cockpit window. As a result, the crew had to make an emergency landing in Salt Lake City. The passengers were moved to another plane, after which they continued their flight to Los Angeles.
Later, photos showing the aftermath of the incident were posted on social media. In particular, the pilot of the plane was injured by glass splinters.
At this point, it is unknown what exactly caused the incident. However, there is active discussion on the internet about the possibility of the plane colliding with a piece of space debris or a micrometeorite. It is worth noting that in the entire history of such incidents, there has been no official confirmation to date. At the time of the collision, there were no reports of known space debris falling in the area of the incident.
At the same time, given the rapid increase in the number of launches and the growth of satellite constellations such as Starlink, it cannot be ruled out that this will happen sooner or later. There is also always the possibility of a meteorite collision, although this is extremely unlikely. The final answer will be given by experts who will examine the aircraft and determine whether there was a collision and, if so, what caused it.
