A United Airlines pilot was injured when a mystery object smashed the windshield of a Boeing 737 flying from Denver to Los Angeles on October 16. The plane was cruising at 36,000 feet (nearly 11,000 meters) when the impact shattered the glass, forcing an emergency landing in Salt Lake City.
Photos shared online showed broken glass, scorch marks, and the pilot’s arms cut and bruised, though all passengers landed safely. While some online speculated about space debris or a meteor strike, experts say the cause remains unclear. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) noted that the odds of serious injury from space debris are one in a trillion, though NASA tracks over 25,000 pieces orbiting Earth.
The damaged aircraft remains grounded as investigations continue. Click through to discover other bizarre and unsettling incidents that have happened midair.