Mystery Object From ‘Space’ Strikes United Airlines Flight Over Utah

The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed Sunday that it is investigating an airliner that was struck by an entity successful its windscreen, mid-flight, complete Utah.

“NTSB gathering radar, weather, formation recorder data,” nan national agency said connected nan social media tract X. “Windscreen being sent to NTSB laboratories for examination.”

The onslaught occurred Thursday, during a United Airlines formation from Denver to Los Angeles. Images shared connected societal media showed that 1 of nan 2 ample windows astatine nan beforehand of a 737 MAX craft was importantly cracked. Related images besides uncover a pilot’s limb that has been trim aggregate times by what look to beryllium mini shards of glass.

Object’s Origin Not Confirmed

The skipper of nan formation reportedly described nan entity that deed nan level arsenic “space debris.” This has not been confirmed, however.

After nan impact, nan craft safely landed astatine Salt Lake City International Airport aft being diverted.

Images of nan onslaught showed that an entity made a forceful effect adjacent nan upper-right portion of nan window, showing harm to nan metallic frame. Because craft windows are aggregate layers thick, pinch laminate successful between, nan model pane did not shatter completely. The craft was flying supra 30,000 feet—likely astir 36,000 feet—and nan cockpit apparently maintained its compartment pressure.

So was it abstraction debris? It is intolerable to cognize without much data. A very fewer type of birds tin alert supra 30,000 feet. However, nan world’s highest flying bird, Rüppell’s vulture, is recovered chiefly successful Africa. An unregulated upwind balloon is besides a possibility, though it’s not clear whether nan velocity would person been precocious capable to origin nan benignant of harm observed. Hail is besides a imaginable culprit.

Assuming this was not a Shohei Ohtani location tally ball, nan only different imaginable origin of nan harm is an entity from space.

That was nan first conclusion of nan pilot, but a meteor is much apt than abstraction debris. Estimates vary, but a caller study successful nan diary Geology recovered that astir 17,000 meteorites onslaught Earth successful a fixed year. That is astatine slightest an bid of magnitude greater than nan magnitude of human-made abstraction debris that survives reentry done Earth’s atmosphere.

A observant study of nan solid and metallic impacted by nan entity should beryllium capable to uncover its origin.

This communicative primitively appeared on Ars Technica.