Passenger plane hit by suspected ‘space debris’ (PHOTOS)
A United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 has been struck by a mysterious object mid-flight, which some suspect may have been debris from space.
United Flight 1093 took off from Denver, Colorado, on Thursday with 140 people on board and was scheduled to land in Los Angeles. About 40 minutes after its departure, the aircraft began descending unexpectedly while flying over Utah and was diverted to Salt Lake City.
Unverified images on social media appear to show fuselage damage and broken glass in the cockpit, as well as blood on the pilot’s arm.
🚨United Boeing 737 MAX 8 (N17327) flight UA1093 from Denver to Los Angeles diverted to Salt Lake City after reportedly hitting "metal space debris" at 36,000 ft. 😳The crew noticed a crack in one layer of the windshield and landed safely.A replacement aircraft later continued… pic.twitter.com/OIDl5rq942
— Turbine Traveller (@Turbinetraveler) October 18, 2025
According to aviation news website AvBrief.com, the captain said the plane was hit by “space debris.” AvBrief added that investigators are focusing on the theory that the aircraft collided with a piece of a weather balloon.
Passenger Heather Ramsey told FOX 11 that the crew had announced over the intercom that the plane had “collided with an object.”
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Sunday that it was investigating a cracked windscreen on the aircraft. United confirmed that the windshield had been damaged but did not comment further.