Japanese passenger plane turns back to airport after cockpit window crack found mid-air
13 January 2024, 19:40
A domestic All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight was heading towards Toyama before it was forced to return to the Sapporo-New Chitose airport after a crack was reported on the cockpit window
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Flight 1182, a Boeing 737, was on a domestic journey to Toyama but had to return to its departure airport.
The crack was found on the outermost of four layers of the cockpit window, but "was not something that affected the flight's control or pressurisation," the spokesperson said.
Out of the 59 passengers and six crew members, no injuries were reported.
The plane landed back at Sapporo’s New Chitose airport at around 12:10pm local time (3:10pm GMT)
This incident is the second involving a Boeing 737 model aircraft.
On January 9, Alaska Airlines found "loose hardware" on some of their Boeing 737-9 Max fleet of aircraft, days after one plane suffered a mid-air blowout.
Read more: Alaska Airlines finds 'loose bolts' on more Boeing 737s after plane suffers mid-air blow out
Read more: 'I thought I was going to die': Horror footage shows inside burning Japanese plane as screaming passengers battle smoke
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all 171 737-9 Max planes operated in the United States after an Alaska Airlines plane suffered a fuselage blowout, leaving a gaping hole in its side 16,000ft in the air.
The door plug, used to replace an exit, tore off around six minutes into a flight from Oregon to Ontario, California, causing depressurisation and serious injuries to six crew members.
After "loose hardware" was found on more planes, a spokesperson for the airline said: "Initial reports from our technicians indicate some loose hardware was visible on some aircraft".
All aircraft were being "thoroughly inspected in accordance with detailed instructions provided by the FAA in consultation with Boeing", the spokesperson added.
