Overview
- United flight UA1093 from Denver to Los Angeles diverted and landed safely in Salt Lake City on October 16 after a significant windshield impact at about 36,000 feet.
- The multilayer windshield partially disintegrated and glass shards wounded the commander’s arm, while passengers and cabin crew reported no serious injuries.
- United said a replacement aircraft carried passengers to Los Angeles the same day and the damaged 737 Max remains out of service as maintenance teams work to return it to service.
- Pilots reported an unidentified object and the commander later described seeing possible space debris, though investigators have not confirmed whether it was debris, a meteorite, or an aircraft fragment.
- The NTSB is leading the investigation with limited public communications during the funding lapse, and an FAA 2023 assessment notes the individual risk to passengers from falling space debris is extremely low.