Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787’s windscreen cracks at 40K feet, forcing terrified crew to reroute San Francisco-bound flight
BySocial Links forLauren Elkies Schram
Published June 22, 2024, 6:21 p.m. ET
The windscreen of a Boeing jet cracked midair, terrifying the cockpit crew and forcing a Virgin Atlantic flight to San Francisco to do an about-face — just the latest in a string of scary incidents for the aerospace company.
Three hours into the packed commercial flight from London’s Heathrow Airport, the Boeing 787-9 suffered “damage to the outer layer of the cockpit windscreen,” the company said, noting the crack penetrated Flight VS41’s glass, which is “made of multiple layers.”
It wasn’t clear what caused the damage during the May flight.
The plane was at 40,000 feet altitude, somewhere between Greenland and Iceland, when it did an about-face.
The temperature outside was -58 degrees, according to reports.
Pilots reportedly tried to alleviate passengers’ fears that the cabin had suffered from decompression.
“The outer layer that partly cracked is a non-structural, wear-resistant layer,” a Virgin spokesperson said.
The crack was evident in photos obtained by The Sun.
Travelers made the 11-hour trip to San Francisco the next day.
The incident is just the latest issue for the embattled plane manufacturer.
On Wednesday, a Southwest Airlines Boeing plane dove while landing in Oklahoma City, flying less than 500 feet over a residential neighborhood.
A month earlier, another Southwest plane dropped to just 400 feet above the Pacific Ocean while traveling to Hawaii.
Among several incidents in March, a Boeing 737-800 lost an external panel as a United Airlines flight flew from San Francisco to Oregon.
