An Air Canada plane en route to Montreal from San Francisco was forced to land in Winnipeg when the windshield fractured during the flight Friday morning.
The Airbus 319, with 82 passengers on board, was over southern Minnesota when the window broke.
The pilot was able to land the plane in Winnipeg without having to declare an emergency.
Over the last 10 years, 38 planes in the U.S. have had their windshields break mid-flight, and over a year ago, another plane diverted to Winnipeg for a shattered window.
"Certainly, pilots are well trained in responding to their aircraft and knowing the capabilities of that aircraft," said Christine Alongi, from the Winnipeg Airport Authority.
William Voss, the president and CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation based in Virginia, told CTV News Channel Friday evening that there is an occasional problem with windows on both Airbuses and Boeings cracking.
"The important thing to know is that it's a laminated piece of glass, like a bulletproof piece of glass," he said.
Voss said he is not sure what caused the fractured window, but said water might have been an issue.
"There's a heating element embedded in the window and things … like water (can cause) the heating element to arch and cause hot spots," he said. "That is typically what has caused most of these failures."
He said even though there hasn't been any injuries associated with this type of incident, it's in the pilot's best interest to land the plane as soon as possible.
Voss said manufacturers have ordered special inspections of these windows and a lot of attention is paid to an airplane's windshield.
"They probably get more attention than many parts of the aircraft."
The cause has not yet been confirmed and the plane has been moved to a maintenance hanger to be examined.
A new plane was brought in for the passengers.
The Airbus 319, with 82 passengers on board, was over southern Minnesota when the window broke.
The pilot was able to land the plane in Winnipeg without having to declare an emergency.
Over the last 10 years, 38 planes in the U.S. have had their windshields break mid-flight, and over a year ago, another plane diverted to Winnipeg for a shattered window.
"Certainly, pilots are well trained in responding to their aircraft and knowing the capabilities of that aircraft," said Christine Alongi, from the Winnipeg Airport Authority.
William Voss, the president and CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation based in Virginia, told CTV News Channel Friday evening that there is an occasional problem with windows on both Airbuses and Boeings cracking.
"The important thing to know is that it's a laminated piece of glass, like a bulletproof piece of glass," he said.
Voss said he is not sure what caused the fractured window, but said water might have been an issue.
"There's a heating element embedded in the window and things … like water (can cause) the heating element to arch and cause hot spots," he said. "That is typically what has caused most of these failures."
He said even though there hasn't been any injuries associated with this type of incident, it's in the pilot's best interest to land the plane as soon as possible.
Voss said manufacturers have ordered special inspections of these windows and a lot of attention is paid to an airplane's windshield.
"They probably get more attention than many parts of the aircraft."
The cause has not yet been confirmed and the plane has been moved to a maintenance hanger to be examined.
A new plane was brought in for the passengers.
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