Airplane cockpit glass damaged 10km above...Collision with one in a trillion probability objects?
Oct 21, 2025
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According to U.S. media such as the New York Post, UA1093 from United Airlines, which was flying from Denver to LA on the 16th (local time), suddenly broke the cockpit glass while flying at an altitude of about 36,000 feet (about 11,000 meters).
As a result, fragments of glass splashed on the pilot's arm, causing bleeding and bruising.
Photos shared online clearly show blood and bruises on the pilot's arm, while broken glass and soot marks are identified on the pilot's dashboard and around it.
The aircraft immediately turned to Salt Lake City, Utah, and landed safely, and passengers later arrived at their destination on another flight.
United Airlines said it made an emergency landing in Salt Lake City due to damage to the passenger's glass and that the aircraft is currently undergoing maintenance and preparing to return.
Unlike common bird collisions and hail, the accident is unusual in that it occurred at an altitude of 36,000 feet.
While some experts have raised the possibility of electrical defects, glass breakage and soot traces suggest a possible collision with external objects. The possibility of space junk or meteoroid collisions has also been raised online, but the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) estimated that the probability of commercial aviation passengers being injured by space junk is one in one trillion in a 2023 report.
Authorities and airlines are investigating the cause of the accident.
Meanwhile, NASA is currently tracking more than 25,000 space junk larger than 10cm orbiting Earth, and concerns about aviation and space safety problems caused by the increase in space junk are growing.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
