Boeing jet forced to turn tail after windscreen cracks at 40,000 feet

22 June 2024 , 10:54

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The jet was three hours into its flight when it turned around (Image: Colin D Fisher / SWNS)

A packed Boeing jet was forced to turn tail back to the UK just hours into an 11-hour flight after its extra-thick windscreen suddenly cracked.

Virgin Flight VS41 was en route to San Francisco on May 23 when the central windscreen on the Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 suddenly smashed. The plane, which had lifted off from Heathrow just three hours earlier, was cruising at an altitude of 40,000 feet, leaving cabin staff horrified.

But they ruled out the prospect of explosive decompression, which would have seen anything not nailed to the cabin's interior sucked out into the -50C atmosphere outside, and the flight was diverted. Pilots were forced to turn back to the UK, where airport investigators were puzzled to discover what looked like dents on the four-layer-thick glass.

The Virgin flight was over the sea en route to San Francisco (Getty Images)

The airline issued an apology to passengers effected by the disruption, and provided overnight accommodation before they completed their trip the following day. The Daily Mirror has approached Boeing for comment.

The incident is not the first time Boeing planes have reported cracked windscreens, with another flight forced to turn back to its destination in 2023. An Air New Zealand flight to Tokyo was forced to turn back to Auckland in June after sustaining damage to its windscreen mid-flight. Flight ANZ99 turned on its heels after passing Port Vila in Vanuatu, Stuff.co.nz reported, with passengers three-and-a-half hours into a planned 11-hour trip.

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The aircraft, another 787-9 Dreamliner, landed back at its original destination nearly seven hours after takeoff. One layer of the thick glass had shattered, but officials decided to reverse course in the interest of passenger safety.

David Morgan, Air New Zealand's chief operational integrity and safety officer, said it was "standard operating procedure" to return for repairs. He said at the time: "Windows on aircraft are made up of multiple layers to withstand damage, however, to ensure the safety of our customers and crew it’s part of our standard operating procedure to return to one of our ports to allow our maintenance team to undertake repairs."

The move left several unimpressed passengers, some of whom took to social media to complain about the experience. One said in a post on X: "3.5 hours into a flight to Tokyo and now we are being diverted back to Auckland due to a technical issue."

Liam Doyle