And you thought it was bad when that rock chipped the windshield of your Prius.
Climbing past the 34,000 foot mark out of Atlanta, a Delta 737 pilot had to abort a cross country flight to Orange County’s John Wayne International airport due to a crack in the windshield. According to the co-pilot, there was nothing to do but watch the crack continue to spider across the framed glass and try to land as quickly as possible to address the issue.
At the moment that the crack occurred the pilot alerted the passengers via intercom, letting them know they would need to make an emergency landing at Dallas-Fort Worth International–that they would be making a rapid descent in order to get below 10,000 feet. At the time he made the announcement they were over Oklahoma.
Minutes later, the pilot came back over the intercom to offer an update, and let the passengers know that the crack was spreading. While a lot of people claim that they wouldn’t want to know such information, most of the passengers on board were happy to have the updates and communication from the pilot.
While this sounds incredibly scary, and could be potentially dangerous, these panes are multi-layered with all kinds of material in between. Right? Any glass specialists out there with some alleviation for subsequent fears?
