Windshield shatters on plane flying from Denver to L.A., space junk could be the cause
Oct 20, 2025, 4:25 PM | Updated: Oct 21, 2025, 2:38 pm
If this really happened, it’s the first time ever.
Did a passenger plane get hit by space junk over Utah on Thursday? The answer is maybe, but not everyone’s convinced.
A United flight from Denver to L.A. had to make a 90-degree turn and land in Salt Lake City Thursday morning after something happened to its windshield.
One of the three layers on the right side shattered, and bits of broken glass got all over the cockpit. Someone got their hands on photos, and one of the pilots had cuts on his arm.
They were cruising at 36,000 feet, and there’s not much that could hit you up there. Hail isn’t likely, and birds don’t really fly that high.
You can see the point of impact in the photos and maybe some scorch marks. So, some people think the only explanation is a meteorite or part of an old satellite falling back to Earth.
The FAA says the odds of space debris hitting your plane and killing you are around one-in-a-trillion. So experts are looking at other possible explanations too. (Hail, a drone, or maybe part of another plane up ahead?)
134 passengers were on board, and they’re all okay. Another plane got them to L.A. later that day.
