Pilots ‘Showered with Glass’ After Passenger Jet Collides with Object

Two pilots ended up being covered in glass after a passenger jet collided with an apparent weather balloon at 36,000 feet, officials have said.

On Thursday, Oct. 16, United Airlines flight 1039 had been traveling from Denver to Los Angeles, when it was diverted to Salt Lake City due to damage sustained while flying near Moab, Utah. 

The plane had been at 36,000 feet when an object unexpectedly cracked the multilayered windshield and injured the pilot, PEOPLE previously reported.

Further details regarding the incident have now been released in a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) preliminary report seen by PEOPLE, with the document stating that the captain and his first officer (FO) were both “showered with pieces of glass” when the object collided with the Boeing 737-8 aircraft. The incident occurred at 6:43 a.m. local time.

The captain sustained minor injuries following the incident, while none of the other 111 occupants on board the airplane were injured, per the report.

“According to the captain, while established in cruise flight at flight level 360 (36,000 ft pressure altitude), he noticed an object distant on the horizon,” the report read. “Before he could mention the object to the first officer (FO), there was a significant impact to the FO’s forward windshield along with a loud bang.” 

The document stated, “The impact resulted in both pilots being showered with pieces of glass. The captain sustained multiple superficial lacerations to his right arm; the FO was uninjured.”

“Following the event, the flight crew coordinated with air traffic control and initiated a descent. The cabin pressurization remained stable, with no fluctuations throughout the flight,” the NTSB report continued, adding that the captain “initiated self-care to clean, sterilize, and bandage his wounds on his arm” after arranging for the plane to land in Salt Lake City.

WindBorne Systems, a long-duration smart weather balloon company, previously released a statement on Monday, Oct. 20, explaining that the mystery object that cracked the plane’s windshield could have been one of their weather balloons.

The NTSB preliminary report went into further detail about the weather balloon being consistent with the path of the passenger jet, writing, “After the event was reported, data was requested for the position of weather balloons, any other aircraft, and for any known reentry objects that were large enough to have signification portions survive that might have been in the area of the collision.” 

“WindBorne Systems Inc. reported that they lost contact with one of their global sounding balloons (GSBs) that was in the vicinity of the airplane at the time of the accident. The GSB was launched from Spokane, Washington at 1129 MDT on October 15, 2025. The balloon traveled south from Washington, down through Oregon and Nevada before turning northeast, and was crossing though Utah at the time of the accident,” the report added.

The document stated that WindBorne had said “the GSBs are designed with the intent to minimize harm in the event of an impact during flight or landing.”

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The company said in a statement on Thursday, Nov. 20 following the NTSB report’s release, “We are deeply relieved that Flight UA1093 landed safely and with minimal damage. While the NTSB continues to determine the precise cause of the incident,” adding that it had “already implemented four additional safety measures to further reduce the possibility of any future aircraft-balloon interactions as well as mitigate harm should an impact occur again.”

The NTSB report pointed out that the plane’s “windshields are certified to withstand the impact of a four-pound bird without penetration.”

The NTSB, United Airlines and WindBorne didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment.