Japan’s domestic flight, All Nippon Airways (ANA), returned to its departure airport on Saturday (13/1) after a crack was discovered in the cockpit glass of its Boeing 737-800 aircraft in mid-air, a spokesperson for the airline said.
The plane, flight number 1182, was heading to Toyama Airport. However, it was forced to return to Sapporo-New Chitose Airport after cracks were found in the outer layer of the four layers of glass surrounding the cockpit, the spokesman said. He added that there were no reports of injuries among the 59 passengers and six crew members as a result of the incident.
The plane was not a Boeing 737 MAX 9. That type of plane was in the spotlight after a cabin panel fell off a new Alaska Airlines jet last week.
“The crack was not something that affected flight control or pressure,” an ANA spokesperson said.
United States (US) aviation authorities on Friday (12/1) extended the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft indefinitely for new safety checks and announced they would tighten oversight of Boeing itself. (Ah)