Space Debris Blamed for Injuring Pilot During Flight — Here's What Really Happened

People aboard United Airlines 737 MAX had an unusual experience on Oct. 18, 2025, when the plane had to make an unplanned detour after something struck their plane.

The incident immediately went under investigation as flight experts looked into what could've possibly caused the damage to the plane's cockpit, which ultimately injured the pilot in the process. Photos from the incident seem to highlight the severity of the impact, leaving so many people with questions about what happened.

While some believe that the plane may have been hit by a small meteorite, others think that something more human was to blame.

Did space debris hit the plane? Or was it just a mild mid-air collision that caused some small delays? You can find out more about the incident below, including which company seems to think that it may have been responsible for the impact due to a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The United Airlines plane was flying at 36,000 feet when it struck an unidentified object, according to Business Insider. The windscreen was broken during the incident, and photos from the cockpit appear to show broken glass on the control panel, as well as what appears to be the bloodied arm of the pilot holding the camera.

The incident happened just 37 minutes after takeoff. According to the publication, the plane was near Moab, Utah, when it began an unplanned descent.

Just 10 minutes later, the plane made a massive change of direction and headed to Salt Lake City instead of Los Angeles, as it was originally supposed to.

According to the publication, the National Transportation Safety Board shared a post on social media, explaining how the agency would be investigating the "cracked windscreen" of the plane.

The post further elaborated that the agency was gathering data from the flight recorder, as well as checking local radar and weather info.

However, a post from Breaking Aviation News & Videos was quick to share some theories about what happened to the plane on X, which included photos from the incident.

In the post, the OP explained how several different theories had been presented about the impact, writing, "Reports have suggested the possibility of the aircraft being hit by falling space debris or a small meteorite, though this remains unconfirmed."

However, it doesn't appear that space debris can be blamed for the impact.

The CEO of WindBorne shared a post on X after hearing the news about the damaged plane, tentatively taking the blame for the incident. According to John Dean's post, one of the company's weather balloons was believed to be at that location and altitude at the time of the impact.

The incident remains under investigation and Dean wrote that his company would be working directly with the National Transportation Safety Board. Fortunately, it doesn't seem like any passengers were injured.