United Airlines jet makes emergency return (photo credit: CNN)
A United Airlines flight carrying 72 people was forced to abort its journey and return to Houston on Sunday when the cockpit windshield shattered shortly after takeoff, scattering glass inside the cockpit. The aircraft landed safely at the Houston airport at around 1 pm, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The flight had departed George Bush Intercontinental Airport at around 12:20 pm and was travelling northwest before turning back, according to Flightradar24. The replacement flight later landed in El Paso at 3:14 pm, according to Flightradar24.
The pilots told air traffic control that the glass had “busted completely through” and that pieces were falling inside the cockpit, CNN reported. “We’ll declare an emergency, sir,” one of the pilots told air traffic control, according to recordings captured by ATC.com. “The first officer’s windshield shattered shortly after takeoff and while there was no depressurization, standard procedure in such cases are to return to field,” a Mesa Airlines spokesperson told CNN. The FAA said it would investigate the incident and noted that aircraft windshields are made up of multiple layers of tempered glass and other materials. The Houston Fire Department responded to the incident and later declared the aircraft safe, the airport said. Mesa Airlines said passengers were transferred to a replacement aircraft to continue their journey.
The Embraer E175, operated by Mesa Airlines on behalf of United, was headed to El Paso when the incident occurred. The pilots stopped the aircraft’s climb and slowed down before turning back to George Bush Intercontinental Airport. No one aboard was injured. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.