unreal... an airliner at 36000 feet hit a weather balloon head on, bullseye into the pilots window

A United Airlines Boeing 737-8 diverted to Salt Lake City last month after striking a Washington-based weather balloon at 36,000 feet, showering its flight crew with glass and leaving the captain with minor injuries, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report released on Thursday.

UAL Flight 1093 was en route from Denver to Los Angeles on Oct. 16 when the collision occurred at 6:43 a.m. MDT near Moab. None of the 111 passengers and crew, aside from the captain, was hurt.

The captain told investigators he had just spotted an object on the horizon when a loud bang reverberated through the cockpit and the first officer’s forward windshield shattered outward. The blow sent pieces of glass across the flight deck, cutting the captain’s right arm.

https://komonews.com/news/local/weather-balloon-launched-in-washington-strikes-united-airlines-flight-injures-pilot-plane-boeing-737-glass-crew-diverted-travel-delay-sea-seattle-tacoma-airport-collision-ntsb-safety-danger-rescue-utah-storm-winter-temperature