Southwest Airlines told KRQE that the diverted plane landed "safely" in Tulsa, Okla.
Credit: Kevin Carter/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- A Southwest Airlines flight was diverted to Tulsa, Okla., after its windshield cracked midair at 37,000 feet on Monday, May 11
- A passenger praised the pilots for safely landing the plane following the incident, which occurred just over an hour into the flight
- The airline provided a replacement flight, which arrived in Baltimore, Md., later that evening
Passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight to Maryland on Monday were diverted to Oklahoma after the plane's windshield cracked midair.
After taking off from the Albuquerque International Sunport in New Mexico around 2 p.m. local time on May 11, Flight 2665 was forced to divert to Tulsa International Airport in Okla., the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told USA Today.
The flight, which was initially headed to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Maryland, was re-routed after the crew reported a cracked windshield, the FAA said, per USA Today.
The diversion occurred just over an hour into the trip while the Boeing 737 was traveling at 37,000 feet, Business Insider reported, citing data from Flightradar24.
George Gonzales, a passenger on the plane, told KRQE that the pilots announced over the intercom that something had happened and that the flight would be making an emergency landing.
“They mentioned … nothing struck the aircraft, it was just the windshield started cracking, and then it just exploded, so credit to the pilots for landing the plane and getting us down safely," Gonzales told the outlet.
In a statement shared with KRQE, Southwest Airlines confirmed that the diverted plane landed "safely" in Tulsa, Okla.
The flight landed at the Tulsa airport at about 4:20 p.m. local time, the FAA said, per USA Today.
"The flight landed uneventfully and Customers were reaccommodated to Baltimore on another aircraft," the Southwest Airlines statement said, per KRQE. "We appreciate the professionalism of our Flight Crew. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees."
The replacement flight arrived at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport around 11:30 p.m. local time, per Business Insider, citing Flightradar24 data.
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PEOPLE reached out to the FAA and Southwest Airlines for comment.
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