Southwest plane returns to Hawaii after a cockpit window cracked during its flight
A Southwest Airlines flight from Honolulu to San Diego was forced to return to Hawaii after a layer of the flightdeck windscreen cracked.
According to tracking data from FlightAware, Southwest flight 2367 was about an hour and a half into its scheduled five and a half hour journey to the mainland when it turned back to Honolulu.
Southwest Airlines spokesperson Chris Perry told USA TODAY in a statement that the crack presented no serious danger, but the plane was taken out of service and given a maintenance review as a precaution.
“On Sunday, the crew of a Southwest Flight from Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) to San Diego International Airport (SAN) returned to HNL for maintenance to review the outer layer of a multiple-layer individual window pane in the flight deck,” Perry said. “The flight landed uneventfully, and the aircraft was taken out of service for a maintenance review. A different aircraft was scheduled to complete the flight to San Diego.”
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Because aircraft windows are typically designed with multiple panes, a crack in a single pane rarely threatens the airworthiness of an aircraft.
Southwest did not provide details on what caused the issue, and the Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate the incident.
“We apologize to customers for the inconvenience and appreciate their patience and understanding as we always maintain safety as our uncompromising priority,” a statement from Southwest said.
Southwest has been under fire recently for a slew of tech meltdowns, and also in the news as the pilots there gear up for a possible strike while contract negotiations continue.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in New York. You can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cracked window causes Southwest flight to turn back to Hawaii
