A cross-country Southwest flight’s windshield cracked at 37,000 feet and forced a diversion

• The Southwest flight from Albuquerque to Baltimore was diverted to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

• The airline and the FAA said the distraction was caused by a cracked windshield.

• Passengers rebooked on a different flight and arrived in Baltimore approximately 4 hours late.

A. Southwest Airlines The flight changed direction when the windshield of the plane cracked in the air.

Monday’s Flight 2665 took off from Albuquerque around 2 p.m., about 20 minutes behind schedule. It was scheduled to land in Baltimore in about three and a half hours.

But data from Flightradar24 shows that just over an hour into the journey, the Boeing 737, traveling at an altitude of 37,000 feet, turned south and headed towards Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The aircraft in question, registered as N265WN, is over 19 years old.

The plane landed safely “after the crew reported a cracked windshield,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. He added that he would investigate the incident.

Southwest Airlines said the plane “was diverted safely to Tulsa due to a crack in the windshield.” It was stated that the plane landed “without any problems” and the passengers were put on another plane to Baltimore.

“We appreciate the professionalism of our Flight Crew,” the airline said.

Flightradar24’s data shows the new plane arrived in Baltimore around 11:30 p.m.; That’s four hours later than passengers were originally expected to arrive in the Maryland city.

Although it was not yet clear what caused the windshield to crack, those on board were at little risk.

Plane windshields are designed with many layers, including tempered glass and other materials; so if any layers are damaged they can still operate safely.

Last October, a United Airlines jet spotted him. windshield broken A weather balloon flying at an altitude of 36,000 feet.

Although bird strikes are more common than weather balloon or space debris, it is still very rare for them to damage an aircraft.

Also that month, a government The plane carrying Pete Hegseth U flipped over the Atlantic Ocean after its windshield cracked.

The most infamous windshield incident occurred in 1990 when a British Airways pilot was partially ejected from the aircraft. The crew held him in place and he survived with frostbite and some fractures. However, this was not because the windshield was cracked, but because it was installed with the wrong screws.

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