Virgin Atlantic B787’s windscreen cracks at 40,000 feet forcing flight to return
A Virgin Atlantic B787-9’s windscreen cracked at 40,000 feet while flying from Heathrow to San Francisco, forcing the plane to return to London.
Flight VS41 was bound for San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and was three hours into the 11-hour journey on May 27, 2024, when the crack was observed by flight crew.
A spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic confirmed the incident to the media, stating that there had been damage to the “outer layer of the cockpit windscreen,” and explained that the outer layer was a non-structural, wear-resistant layer.
The crack appeared when the plane was flying between Iceland and Greenland.
Virgin Atlantic flight VS41 is returning to Heathrow en route to San Francisco after nearly 3 hours of flight due a cracked windscreen @RadarBoxComFollow flight VS41 at RadarBox https://t.co/QP1mwNGPam pic.twitter.com/LJeXebS4Tg— Flight Emergency (@FlightEmergency) May 27, 2024While it is not clear what caused the crack, the high altitude at which it occurred indicates that it could not have been a bird strike.
Reports indicate that outside temperatures were at -58 degrees Celsius when the incident occurred.
🚨✈️ VIRGIN ATLANTIC BOEING WINDSCREEN CRACKS AT 40,000 FEET, FORCING RETURN TO UKA 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, 2024The flight was able to return and land at LHR safely, and passengers were provided with overnight accommodation before being placed on another flight to San Francisco the following day.
This is the second incident in a month where the windshield of a B787 aircraft has cracked mid-flight.
On June 16, 2024, a KLM 787 Dreamliner bound for Amsterdam was forced to return to Tokyo after cracks appeared in the captain’s windshield at 25,000 feet.
Bedankt! @KLM voor de snelle service en omboeking vanuit Tokyo. We kunnen met een kleine omweg door naar Amsterdam. Btw de crew van #KL862 was super! Sturen jullie snel een nieuw raampje? pic.twitter.com/eS6U403xLD— Cristian Schrik (@CristianSchrik) June 16, 2024
KLM Boeing 787 returns to Tokyo after windshield cracks after take-off
Airlines
Aviation SafetybyLuke Peters2024-06-17
The post Virgin Atlantic B787’s windscreen cracks at 40,000 feet forcing flight to return appeared first on AeroTime.
A Virgin Atlantic B787-9’s windscreen cracked at 40,000 feet while flying from Heathrow to San Francisco, forcing the…
The post Virgin Atlantic B787’s windscreen cracks at 40,000 feet forcing flight to return appeared first on AeroTime.
