Boeing 737: United Airlines flight forced to divert mid-flight due to cracked windshield

A Boeing 737-800 plane was forced to make a diversion mid-flight due to a cracked windshield. The United Airlines flight from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas was supposed to arrive at the Dulles International Airport but it was diverted to the Denver International Airport in Colorado, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

The incident occurred on Sunday (28 January) and the aircraft had 166 passengers and seven crew members on board. The FAA added that the United Airlines Flight 1627 landed safely at around 1.10pm local time.

A spokesperson for United Airlines told The Independent that the plane was diverted due to a “maintenance issue”. The airline said: “After safely landing, customers deplaned normally and a plane change occurred. The flight departed Denver around 3 p.m. MT to Dulles.”

The airline added that all passengers and crew members boarded a Boeing 737-900 to Dulles. The FAA told the Independent that "cracks happen across all airplane models", and usually, when they occur, they happen in the "glass pane on the outside, which serves as a protective covering for the inner structural portion."

This incident comes as Boeing is under scrutiny over the safety of its aircraft. On 5 January a door plug blew out of a Boeing 737 Max 9 model shortly after take off, prompting the FAA to ground this fleet of planes. No one was seriously injured on the Alaska Airlines flight but passengers on the aircraft have now filed a lawsuit against Boeing after feeling “shocked, terrorised and confused”.

On Tuesday 23 January the CEO of Alaska Airlines said he is “angry” about the incident on 5 January and revealed loose bolts have been found on “many” Boeing aircraft. There have been several incidents involving Boeing planes since the Alaska Airlines mishap. A nose wheel fell off a Boeing 757 plane as it was preparing to take off on the runway at Atlanta's international airport on Saturday 20 January, and an American Airlines flight using a Boeing 737-800 plane was forced to divert due to a reported fire on board on Sunday 21 January.