A United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight, which was travelling from Denver to Los Angeles, experienced a horrifying incident after it was forced to make an emergency landing after its cockpit windshield was hit by an unidentified object last week.
According to American media reports, the pilot of the flight was injured after the flight was hit by an unidentified object at 36,000 feet near Moab, Utah, prompting it to land in Salt Lake City.
United Airlines Flight 1093, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 carrying 134 passengers and six crew members, was cruising when the impact cracked one layer of the aircraft’s multilayered windshield, leaving the pilot with scratches and bruises, reported Fox LA.
Passenger Heather Ramsey told Fox 11: “One flight attendant raised her voice and told the other, ‘Get back. Get to the back of the aircraft, stop service.”
He said the pilot informed passengers about the situation moments later.
“Unfortunately, we have some bad news. The aircraft has collided with an object,” he said quoting the pilot.
The flight swiftly descended 10,000 feet before landing in the airport.
“I was just looking out the window thinking, ‘We could go down at any time.’ It was really scary,” Ramsey said. “We were all holding our breath until the very end. You could definitely feel the tension on the entire aircraft.”
A photo has now gone viral on X showing the injured hand of the pilot.
United Airlines issued a statement as quoted by Fox LA: “On Thursday, United Flight 1093 landed safely in Salt Lake City to address damage to its multilayered windshield. We arranged for another aircraft to take customers to Los Angeles later that day, and our maintenance team is working to return the aircraft to service.”
The object that hit the plane is still not known.
Ramsey said. “People are saying scrap metal, it could be space debris, drones?”
