Alaska Airlines 737 Windshield Cracks, Forces Emergency Landing in Montana

An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 made an emergency landing in Missoula, Montana, after the flight deck windshield cracked mid-flight.

The incident occurred on October 11th during flight AS345 from Columbus to Seattle.

Alaska Airlines Emergency Landing

The aircraft involved in the incident was a Boeing 737-900ER registered as N288AK, which departed John Glenn Columbus International Airport at 09:06. Over three hours into the journey, approximately 100 miles east of Missoula, the pilots altered course due to the windshield issue.
 

Flightradar24 data revealed that the aircraft was cruising at FL360 when it diverted. The plane landed safely on Runway 29 at Missoula Montana Airport at 10:52 local time. All 163 passengers and six crew members onboard remained unharmed.

Alaska Airlines issued a statement confirming the diversion resulted from a crack in the flight deck window. The airline emphasized that passenger and crew safety was never compromised, citing their aircraft's triple-paned window design. This feature allows the middle and inner panes to maintain cabin pressure if the outer pane cracks.
 

Passengers continued their journey on a replacement Boeing 737-900ER, registered N402AS. This flight departed Missoula at 18:00 and arrived in Seattle at 18:04 local time, resulting in a nearly seven-hour delay for travelers.

The affected aircraft, delivered to Alaska Airlines in May 2018, has accumulated over 22,000 flight hours and 7,000 flight cycles according to ch-aviation data. It remains grounded in Missoula for inspection and repair.