A United Airlines flight suffered a cracked windshield after suffering an impact from possible space debris as it flew a domestic US flight. The crew managed to land the aircraft and there were no serious injuries among any of the 140 passengers and crew. This could be the first incident of space debris hitting an aircraft, according to authorities.
The flight involved a United Boeing 737 MAX 8 on October 16, 2025. The aircraft, registered as N17327, was operating flight UA1093 from Denver (DEN) to Los Angeles when the incident unfolded. According to the Aviation Herald, was en route between the two airports flying at 36,000ft (10,900m) around 180 nautical miles southeast of Salt Lake City in Utah.
The aircraft was then struck by an unidentified object on the first officer’s main windshield, showering the cockpit with glass fragments. Luckily, the outer layer of the multilayered windshield was only damaged, and the crew elected to divert to Salt Lake City Airport (SLC) as a precautionary measure. The crew initially descended to 26,000ft before continuing their descent and landing safely on runway 16L at Salt Lake City about 50 minutes after leaving their cruising altitude.
Passengers aboard US 1093 were transferred to a replacement Boeing 737 MAX 9 to continue their flight and made it to Los Angeles with a delay of around six hours.
Photos posted on social media show damage to the exterior of the aircraft’s windshield, with the co-pilot’s side completely shattered on the outer layer and an impact area on the upper right-hand corner. There are also scorch marks on the windshield, suggesting this was possibly caused by space debris or a meteorite. Meanwhile, internal shots show a pilot’s bloodied arm.
United Airlines 737 MAX pilot injured after the windshield cracked at 36,000 while flying from Denver to Los Angeles on Thursday.
Reports have suggested the possibility of the aircraft being hit by falling space debris or a small meteorite, though this remains unconfirmed.… pic.twitter.com/8qNg6aA0uE
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) October 18, 2025
Based on images of the damage to the windshield taken after the incident, many have speculated that the damage was likely caused by impact with a solid object rather than a simple malfunction with the windshield itself. While foreign object debris (FOD) or bird strikes often occur at significantly lower altitudes in and around airports, a commercial aircraft being struck by debris while flying as high as 36,000ft is almost unprecedented.
While the airline and the authorities are not ruling out other possible causes, suspicions are focusing on the space debris or meteorite theories. It is plausible that the windshield could have suffered an electrical arcing malfunction, which resulted in the scorch marks seen in the photos. There is another theory that the aircraft encountered a hailstorm, although, at such a high altitude, such an occurrence would be rare.
However, should it be concluded that it was indeed a piece of space debris striking the aircraft, then it would be the first incident of its kind with space debris hitting a commercial airliner.
United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX hit by suspected space debris midair at 36,000 ft – the first incident of its kind in aviation history pic.twitter.com/SzFZnF4nOX
— non aesthetic things (@PicturesFoIder) October 20, 2025
According to Flightradar, the aircraft remained on the ground in Salt Lake City for three days, undergoing repairs before re-entering service and operating a flight from Salt Lake City to Chicago as US 3864. During its time on the ground, investigators will have been focusing on the damage caused to the airframe and what exactly might have caused it.
According to ch-aviation, the aircraft involved, N17327, is only around 22 months old, having been delivered to United in December 2023. It is configured to seat up to 166 passengers across two cabin classes, with 16 in business class and 150 in economy class.
In the past, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said that the risk of a piece of space debris impacting a commercial airliner was minimal, adding that there was a one-in-a-trillion chance of a passenger receiving an injury from such an occurrence.
