A cross-country Southwest flight’s windshield cracked at 37,000 feet and forced a diversion

• A Southwest flight from Albuquerque to Baltimore diverted to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
• The airline and the FAA said the diversion was due to a cracked windshield.
• Passengers were rebooked onto a different plane and arrived in Baltimore about 4 hours late.

A Southwest Airlines flight diverted after the plane’s windshield cracked in midair.

Monday’s Flight 2665 took off from Albuquerque around 2 p.m., about 20 minutes behind schedule. It was set to land in Baltimore about three and a half hours later.

However, data from Flightradar24 shows that just over an hour into the journey and cruising at 37,000 feet, the Boeing 737 turned south and diverted to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The aircraft involved, registered as N265WN, is over 19 years old.

In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said the airplane landed safely “after the crew reported a cracked windshield.” It added that it would investigate the incident.

Southwest Airlines said the flight “diverted safely to Tulsa due to a windshield crack.” It added that the flight landed “uneventfully,” and passengers were put on another airplane to Baltimore.

“We appreciate the professionalism of our Flight Crew,” the airline said.

Flightradar24’s data shows the replacement airplane reached Baltimore around 11:30 p.m. — four hours later than passengers initially expected to arrive in the Maryland city.

While it isn’t yet clear what caused the windshield to crack, those on board would have been at very little risk.

Plane windshields are designed with several layers, including tempered glass and other materials, so that they can still function safely in case any individual layer is damaged.

Last October, a United Airlines jet saw its windshield cracked by a weather balloon while flying at 36,000 feet.

Although bird strikes are more common than a weather balloon or space debris, it is still very rare for them to damage an airplane.

Also that month, a government airplane carrying Pete Hegseth U-turned over the Atlantic Ocean after its windshield cracked.

The most notorious windshield incident occurred in 1990 when a British Airways pilot was partially ejected from the airplane. The crew held him in place, and he survived with frostbite and some fractures. However, this was not caused by a cracked windshield, but rather because it was installed with the incorrect screws.

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