Plane windshield cracks as flight makes its landing in Oregon, Alaska Airlines says

On the night of March 17, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 was making its way from Arlington, Virginia, to Portland, Oregon.

As the plane descended into the City of Roses, something unfortunate happened. The windshield cracked, the airline said.

“Alaska Airlines Flight 9 from DCA to PDX sustained a minor crack in the aircraft’s inner windshield while on descent,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement to McClatchy News. “The crew followed their checklists and the aircraft continued safely to its destination as scheduled.”

This happened after an Alaska Airlines 737 lost its door while midair in January, followed by a host of issues with the plane manufacturer Boeing in general, news outlets reported. The litany of air travel debacles has prompted travelers to be on high alert.

“Another one with Boeing 737? Boeing can’t build planes anymore,” a commenter wrote under a KPTV broadcast covering the March 17 incident.

“A major disaster…in the making,” someone else said.

However, according to Simple Flying, “cracks on windshields occur much more often than travelers think, although they do not always result in diversion or cause serious incidents.”

In a statement to McClatchy News, a Boeing spokesperson echoed this saying, “Cracked windshields frequently occur across all models of airplane from all manufacturers. … The 737 airplane windshield is comprised of five-layer windscreens to ensure no loss of pressure if a crack occurs. Also, the glass is tempered during the manufacturing process to provide additional strength.”

“Alaska Airlines’ 737 fleet are outfitted with five-layer windscreens that have an outer pane, three inner layers and an inner pane,” Alaska Airlines said. “If an inner pane cracks, the other pane and layers can maintain cabin pressure.”

Regardless, the airline says it is conducting the necessary inspections.

“The aircraft will be inspected and repaired by engineers on the ground.”

This story was originally published March 19, 2024 at 9:35 AM with the headline "Plane windshield cracks as flight makes its landing in Oregon, Alaska Airlines says."