The pilots of a Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Washington DC decided to land their jet in Denver after the cockpit windshield shattered more than 30,000 feet. The crew repeatedly asked passengers to remain calm until landing.
“They came over the speaker and said the windshield was broken and we would be diverting to Denver in about 10 minutes,” Rachel Wright, one of the 198 passengers on the plane, told KUTV.
A photo of the windshield taken by a passenger shows that although the glass is riddled with cracks, it has not fallen out of its frame. Commercial airline pilots said jetliner windshields could be two inches thick with multiple panes of glass, the station reported.
The crew announced the diversion about 90 minutes into the flight, after the plane reached cruising altitude above 30,000 feet, passengers said.
“They kept saying everybody keep calm, keep calm, and we were calm, so when we were told to keep calm while we were calm, we got a little panicky,” Wright said.
Passengers could see the broken glass as they landed in Denver.
“I’m really good at playing what-ifs? And so I’m thinking about the worst-case scenario of what could have happened, and I’m grateful,” Wright said. “It could have been really bad, it could have gone very differently.”
Another passenger, Kirk Knowlton, took a picture and tweeted that the crew had announced that the windshield appeared to crack spontaneously.
Delta issued a statement to KUTV calling it “an in-flight maintenance issue.”
“As a precaution, the flight crew diverted to Denver and the plane routinely landed. Our team worked quickly to accommodate customers on a new aircraft and we sincerely apologize for the delay and inconvenience with their travel plans,” the airline said.
Passengers boarded a new plane in Denver and continued on to Washington. Wright praised Delta for getting the jet down safely and said the airline was very accommodating.
“I’ve never been more grateful to get an extra three hours at an airport,” Wright said.