El Paso-bound flight makes emergency return to Houston after windshield shatters, airline says

HOUSTON, Texas — A Mesa Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency return to Houston after the windshield of the plane shattered shortly after takeoff, according to the airline and air traffic control recordings.

Air traffic control (ATC) recordings obtained by News indicate that pressurization was not lost after the windshield on the first officer’s side in the cockpit shattered.

The flight departed from George Bush International Airport and was en route to El Paso before the reported incident. According to airline recordings, the flight landed safely and taxied to the gate on its own.

No injuries were reported in the incident, according to officials.

According to News’ report, aircraft windshields and windows have multiple layers, so damage to one layer typically isn’t a major issue. In this case, though, the pilot on the ATC recording reported that multiple pieces of glass were falling inside the cockpit, indicating that several layers were shattered.

A similar incident happened last year, according to News, when a weather balloon reportedly struck the windshield of a United flight and shattered the glass.

It is unclear at this time what caused the windshield to shatter or how extensive the damage was in the incident. Airline officials told News that they are working to get the flight’s passengers to their destination.