Hailstorm or space debris? Mysterious object damages aircraft window and injures pilot

A United Airlines flight from Denver to Los Angeles had to make an emergency landing in Salt Lake City after the windshield of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 broke. There were a total of 140 people on board. According to Airlive, the pilot suffered injuries to his hand after unknown debris struck the cockpit.

The captain reportedly spotted the approaching object and described it as possible “space debris.” If this suspicion is confirmed, it would be an unprecedented incident in civil aviation.

However, an alternative explanation is the theory of a severe hailstorm that could have caused the damage. Photos show numerous impact marks on the nose of the aircraft.

Although a collision with space debris sounds dramatic, the probability of it causing a flight accident is statistically extremely low. The Federal Aviation Administration estimates the annual global risk to be only 0.1 percent.

The airline noted that only one of the windshield's multiple protective layers, which are designed to withstand impact, was damaged.

(max)