Here we go again.
While flying from Heathrow to San Francisco, a Virgin Atlantic Boeing jet’s windshield cracked at 40,000 feet.
Photographs show that a central window pane is shattered with cracks in several areas, but investigators have been unable to determine what caused the damage.
✈️ VIRGIN ATLANTIC BOEING WINDSCREEN CRACKS AT 40,000 FEET, FORCING RETURN TO UK
A packed Virgin Atlantic Boeing jet’s windscreen cracked at 40,000 feet on a flight from Heathrow to San Francisco, forcing a return to the UK.
There seems to be a major issue with a Boeing plane… pic.twitter.com/gPxp9XdYKw
— Kacee Allen (@KaceeRAllen) June 22, 2024
The crack in the four-layer thick glass left cockpit crew terrified as the plane made its transatlantic voyage.
The incident occurred three hours into the flight as the jet flew between Greenland and Iceland and forced Virgin Flight VS41 to make a U-turn and fly back to the UK on May 27.
Experts have said that the plane’s altitude meant it could not have hit a bird and no immediate other course have been highlighted but temperatures outside the aircraft were -50 degrees Celsius.
Despite the huge crack, pilots tried to calm fears that the cabin had suffered from any decompression and the airline apologised to passengers.
Following the return to the UK, travellers were offered accommodation and were able to fly to San Francisco the following day The Sun reported.
The terrifying crack is the latest issue to plague the already troubled Boeing manufacturer.
Earlier this month, a passenger jet with 163 passengers and nine crew members barely cleared the runway by ten feet due to a software glitch that caused it to take off with insufficient power.
The TUI Boeing 737-800, departing from Bristol Airport’s 1.2-mile runway 9 to Gran Canaria on March 4, had difficulty gaining enough lift during takeoff.
Boeing flight carrying over 100 passengers nearly ends in disaster after plane clears runway by just ten feethttps://t.co/OkEHwXqFBE
— The Sun (@TheSun) June 7, 2024
The 15-year-old jet eventually managed to get airborne but passed over the nearby A38 road at less than 100 feet before making its way to the sunny island.
Just last month a Boeing plane’s tyre burst during a landing in Turkey making it the third passenger aircraft built by the manufacturing giant to suffer a technical problem or crash in just two days.
Just days earlier a Boeing 767 cargo plane operated by FedEx made an emergency landing at Istanbul Airport after its front landing gear failed and terrified passengers fled a burning Boeing 737-300 jet carrying 78 passengers after it skidded off the runway and caught fire during take-off in Senegal.
Following recent shocking and potentially lethal incidents, passengers are voicing their concerns on social media, with many choosing to switch from Boeing aircraft or rely on anti-anxiety medication as the company struggles with an ongoing safety crisis.
@landertitus I AM NOT A WHISTLEBLOWER P.S the wing seems a bit floppy #boeing #whilstleblower #travel #landertitus #britishairway ♬ smooth operator sped up – audiossss
In a statement, Virgin Atlantic said: ‘On 27th May 2024, our flight from Heathrow to San Francisco, VS41, returned to Heathrow due to a damaged cockpit windscreen outer layer.
‘At no point was the safety of the aircraft, our customers or our cabin crew compromised and the Captain made the decision to return to Heathrow, where we had the replacement parts and tooling in place to fix the issue and avoid further impact to our customers and our schedules.
‘We always work well above industry safety standardsand the aircraft was back in service within 24 hours of the event. We’d like to apologise to the customers involved, for the delay to their journeys.’
Those San Francisco to Heathrow Boeing trips seem a tad bit risky.
