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NTSB Probes United 737‑8 Windshield Failure That Forced Diversion to Salt Lake City

Investigators are analyzing the shattered multi‑ply window plus flight data to determine whether an external strike or an equipment fault caused the high‑altitude failure.

Overview

  • United Flight 1093 from Denver to Los Angeles descended from cruise near Moab, Utah, on Oct. 16 and diverted to Salt Lake City after a cockpit windscreen cracked; the aircraft landed safely.
  • United says one pilot sustained minor injuries from flying glass and passengers were transferred to a replacement jet that reached Los Angeles after roughly a six‑hour delay.
  • The NTSB confirmed a formal investigation, collected radar, weather and flight‑recorder data, and sent the damaged windscreen to its laboratories for examination.
  • Authorities have not identified a cause; reporting has raised possibilities such as space debris or a meteorite, high‑altitude hail, or electrical arcing, with FAA analysis describing space‑debris injury risk as extraordinarily low.
  • Widely shared photos showing a bloodied forearm, shattered glass and apparent scorch marks remain unverified, and Business Insider reported the aircraft later repositioned to a maintenance facility in Chicago Rockford.