Delta plane makes emergency landing after windshield shatters in midflight

A Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Washington made an emergency landing in Denver on Thursday after the plane's windshield shattered midair.

After the crew of Delta Flight 760 “declared an emergency due to a cracked windshield,” the flight landed safely at Denver International Airport around 11:15 p.m. local time, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. What caused the windshield to crack is still undetermined, but the FAA said it would conduct an investigation. Melissa Long, a Delta spokesperson, confirmed that the plane, a Boeing 757, had a “maintenance issue midflight,” but did not offer information about when the windshield started to crack or why.

“Out of an abundance of caution, the flight crew diverted into Denver and the plane landed routinely,” Long said in a statement Saturday. “Our team worked quickly to accommodate customers on a new plane, and we sincerely apologize for the delay and inconvenience to their travel plans.”

A photo of a cockpit posted on Twitter shows a windshield lined with multiple fractures and cracks but still held in its frame.

According to KUTV, a CBS affiliate in Salt Lake City, one of the 198 passengers aboard the flight said that about 90 minutes after takeoff, an announcement was made that the plane would be landing in Denver.

“They came on the loudspeaker saying that the windshield had shattered, and we were diverting to Denver in about 10 minutes,” the passenger, Rachel Wright, told KUTV. “I was sure I had misheard them, but I hadn't.”

She said that the crew asked the passengers to remain calm while they rerouted.