Investigators are probing a bizarre midair incident that broke a United planes windshield at 36,000 feet

• A United Airlines jet’s windscreen was cracked while flying at 36,000 feet.

• Images appeared to show glass in the cockpit and the captain’s bloodied forearm.

• Scorch marks on the airplane recommend it may need been hit by space particles.

Investigators are wanting into how a United Airlines jet’s windscreen was damaged while flying at 36,000 feet, seemingly injuring the captain.

United Flight 1093 took off from Denver on Thursday morning, scheduled for a short flight to Los Angeles.

But 37 minutes later, close to the Utah metropolis of Moab, the Boeing 737 Max started unexpectedly descending, per data from Flightradar24.

After another 10 minutes, it abruptly turned north and diverted to Salt Lake City.

In an X post on Sunday, the National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating “a cracked windscreen on a Boeing 737-8 during cruise flight.”

It added that the NTSB is gathering radar, climate, and flight recorder data. The windscreen is being despatched to the company’s labs.

United confirmed to Business Insider that the airplane’s windshield had been broken, including that the “plane landed safely in Salt Lake City to address damage to its multilayered windshield.”

Plane windscreens are designed with a number of layers so that they’ll still perform safely in case any particular person layer is broken.

xJonNYC, an aviation fanatic who runs common accounts on X and Bluesky, was first to report particulars of the injury.

He shared images that appeared to show the damaged windshield, glass in the cockpit, and the captain’s bloodied forearm.

The airplane also appeared to have scorch marks, suggesting that it may have been broken by space particles or a small meteorite.

Business Insider has not independently verified the photographs shared on X.

In its assertion to Business Insider, United added that passengers on the unique airplane have been put on a new airplane, noting that its “maintenance team is working to return the aircraft to service.”

The second Boeing 737 Max landed in Los Angeles at 1:12 p.m. PT, about 5 and a half hours behind schedule.

Meanwhile, the unique airplane flew to Chicago Rockford Airport on Sunday. A upkeep facility there has beforehand said it performs work on United’s 737s.

Read the unique article on Business Insider