A United Airlines flight was forced into an emergency landing after a cockpit window reportedly “popped open” in mid-air.
United flight UA1274, travelling from Bradley International Airport in Connecticut to Washington Dulles Airport on Tuesday, was forced to change course shortly after takeoff and return to Bradley.
An airline representative told Insider that the jet had to return to the airport to “address an unlatched cockpit window. The flight landed safely, and we reaccomodated our customers on another aircraft.”
Flight-tracking data shows that the aircraft (reg. N66825) took off from Bradley at 6 a.m. Tuesday, but leveled off shortly after takeoff before returning to the airport. The rescheduled flight departed later that day, resulting in a delay of nearly six hours.
In the recording, wind noise can he heard, and at one point the pilot tells the air traffic controller he is unable to hear his instructions.
“We’ve had a window pop open after take-off,” the pilot said, adding that there were 178 “souls” on board the plane.
It’s not clear whether the mishap was due to human error, or a maintenance issue.