Delta plane forced to land after windshield shatters mid-air

The pilots on a Delta flight from Salt Lake City to Washington DC decided to bring their jet down in Denver after the cockpit windshield shattered above 30,000 feet. The crew repeatedly told passengers to remain calm until they landed. “They came on the loudspeaker saying that the windshield had shattered, and we were diverting to Denver in about 10 minutes,” Rachel Wright, one of the 198 passengers on the plane, told KUTV. A photo of the windshield taken by a passenger shows the glass, though lined with cracks, didn’t fall from its frame. Commercial airline pilots said jetliner windshields can be two inches thick, with several layered panes of glass, the station reported. The crew announced the diversion about 90 minutes into the flight, after the plane reached cruising altitude, which is above 30,000 feet, passengers said. “They kept coming on saying for everyone to stay calm, to be calm, and we were calm so being told to stay calm while we were calm made us feel a little panicky,” Wright said. Passengers were able to see the shattered glass once they landed in Denver. Delta gave a statement to KUTV calling it “a maintenance issue mid-flight”. “Out of an abundance of caution, the flight crew diverted into Denver and the plane landed routinely. Our team worked quickly to accommodate customers on a new plane, and we sincerely apologize for the delay and inconvenience to their travel plans,” the airline statement said.<br/>