Packed Virgin Atlantic Boeing jet’s windscreen ‘cracked at 40,000 feet’ on flight from Heathrow to San Francisco
The windscreen of a packed Virgin Atlantic Boeing plane ‘cracked at 40,000 feet’ during the flight from Heathrow to San Francisco.
Photos show a dented central window with cracks in several places, but the cause of the damage has investigators scratching their heads.
The crack in the four-layer thick glass left the flight crew terrified as the plane made its transatlantic journey.
The incident occurred three hours into the flight as the plane flew between Greenland and Iceland, forcing Virgin Flight VS41 to make a U-turn and fly back to Britain on May 27.
Experts have said the plane’s altitude meant it could not have hit a bird and no immediate alternative course was indicated, but temperatures outside the plane were -50 degrees Celsius.
A cracked windshield forced Virgin Flight VS41 to make a U-turn and fly back to Britain on May 27 after the flight crew was terrified by the broken glass (Stock Image)
Despite the massive tear, pilots tried to allay fears that the cabin had suffered some decompression and the airline apologized to passengers.
After returning to Britain, the travelers were offered accommodation and were able to fly to San Francisco the next day The sun reported.
The terrifying crack is the latest problem to hit the already struggling Boeing manufacturer.
Earlier this month, a passenger plane carrying 163 passengers and nine crew members came just three meters from the end of a runway after a software problem allowed it to take off with too little power.
The TUI Boeing 737-800 was taking off from Bristol Airport’s 2.5km runway 9 to Gran Canaria on March 4 when it struggled to take off.
The 15-year-old plane eventually managed to become airborne, but passed within less than 30 meters of the nearby A38 before heading towards the sunny island.
Just last month, a Boeing plane’s tire burst during a landing in Turkey, making it the third passenger plane built by the manufacturing giant to suffer a technical problem or crash in just two days.
Just days earlier, a FedEx Boeing 767 freighter made an emergency landing at Istanbul airport after its front landing gear failed and Terrified passengers fled a burning Boeing 737-300 plane with 78 passengers on board after it skidded off the runway and caught fire during takeoff in Senegal.
Following the terrifying and sometimes near-fatal incidents, fliers have taken to TikTok to say they will change their flights from Boeing jets and travel with anti-anxiety drugs as the aircraft manufacturer faces an ongoing safety crisis.
One TikToker posted a video of himself boarding a Boeing flight at Heathrow Airport, with the caption “About to get on a Boeing flight drunk, wish me luck.”
Meanwhile, someone tweeted: ‘I might miss my flight for the first time ever. But he doesn’t trip, because it’s a Boeing. Maybe I’m dodging a bullet here.’
A Virgin Atantics pokesperson said: ‘On 27 May 2024 our flight, VS41 from London Heathrow to San Francisco, returned to Heathrow due to damage to the outer layer of the cockpit windscreen.
‘At no time was the safety of the aircraft, our customers or our cabin crew at risk and the captain decided to return to Heathrow where we had the replacement parts and tools available to resolve the problem and further impact our customers and our schedules.
“We always operate well above industry safety standards and the aircraft was back in service within 24 hours of the event. We would like to apologize to the customers involved for the delay to their trips.’