A plane from All Nippon Airways (ANA) in Japan had to go back to the airport it took off from because there was a crack on the window in the front of the plane.
A crack appeared in the outer layer of the cockpit window.
The situation wasn’t too bad, but if it wasn’t fixed it could have been very dangerous, according to an expert in planes.
No one on got hurt.
ANA flight NH1182 was flying from Sapporo to Toyama, both cities in Japan.
The Boeing 737 plane landed at Sapporo’s New Chitose airport at about 12:10 local time (3:10 GMT).
A spokesperson from ANA, Japan’s biggest airline, said they found a crack in the plane as it flew over Hakodate.
“The crack did not affect the plane’s steering or air pressure,” the spokesperson said.
The plane went back to the airport and landed safely.
Airplane specialist John Strickland said we still don’t know why the crack happened.
“Sometimes things like this happen. Maybe something hit the window, like a bird or a big piece of hail. It’s not uncommon. ”
“He said sometimes you can get a stress fracture from overuse, but it doesn’t happen very often. ”
He said the airline needs to put in a new window, not just fix the broken part, to make sure the plane is very safe.
“He said it’s pretty much the same as triple glazing, and everything needs to be in good condition. ”
“These things happen sometimes, we can’t say exactly how often, but they can be really dangerous if they’re not fixed. ”
There were 59 people traveling and six staff members on the plane. Different flights were set up for the passengers as an option.
This is the second time a Boeing 737 airplane has had a problem in the last two weeks. But the ANA flight was not one of Boeing’s newest 737 MAX 9 planes. It was an older version that was still in good condition.
The US aviation regulator, the FAA, has stopped all Boeing 737-9 planes from flying after an Alaska Airlines plane had a big hole in its side when a panel fell off while in the air.
The airplane had to land quickly in Oregon with 177 people on board.
On Friday, the FAA decided to keep the Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes on the ground for longer to make sure they are safe. They also said they will be keeping a closer eye on Boeing to make sure they are doing things right.
The FAA said that 171 planes similar to the one in the incident must stay on the ground for the safety of American travelers.
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Breach in cockpit window forces ANA Boeing to retreat
