Photo: Getty Images
A plane traveling from Salt Lake City to Washington, D.C. was forced to make an emergency landing after the cockpit windshield shattered mid-flight.
The windshield shattered while the plane was flying at above 30,000 feet, according to The Associated Press. Passengers were told to remain calm until they landed in Denver at about 11:15 p.m. local time, according to The Hill.
"Out of an abundance of caution, the flight crew diverted into Denver and the plane landed routinely. Our team worked quickly to accommodate customers on a new plane, and we sincerely apologize for the delay and inconvenience to their travel plans,” Delta Airlines said in a statement.
The Federal Aviation Administration said an investigation is underway and it is not immediately clear why the windshield cracked.
The flight crew came on the plane's loudspeaker about 90 minutes into the flight to tell passengers what had happened to the windshield. "They kept coming on saying for everyone to stay calm, to be calm, and we were calm. So being told to stay calm while we were calm made us feel a little panicky," passenger Rachel Wright told KUTV.
When the plane landed safely in Denver, passengers were allowed to see and take photos of the shattered windshield as they deplaned. Passenger Kirk Knowlton shared a photo of the windshield on Twitter. "We were on our way to the (American College of Cardiology) meeting when it was announced that we we would need to make an unplanned landing in Denver because the windscreen cracked. Apparently it was spontaneous. Fortunately, we landed safely and are about to get back in air. We are grateful for safe flights," Knowlton said.
Delta told ABC 4 that the 198 passengers on board were accommodated on a new plane scheduled to arrive in Washington, D.C. shortly before midnight.