Mystery object smashes US plane’s cockpit at 36,000 feet forcing emergency landing

An investigation is underway

United Airlines flight 1093 was making a routine trip from Denver, Colorado, to Los Angeles, California, on Thursday (20 October) when the cockpit's front windshield suddenly smashed.

The aircraft, a 737 Max 8 with 134 passengers and six crew on board, was then diverted to Salt Lake City as a precautionary measure.

The plane was flying at 36,000 feet (cruising altitude) when it was struck by a mystery object.

Images that are alleged to be from the incident show a smashed windshield as well the bloodied arm of one of the pilots who appeared to have been hit with shattered windscreen.

As per Air Live, the pilot reportedly said that the object the plane collided appeared to be "space debris" as he claimed his aircraft was "hit by a falling object".

If the comments are indeed confirmed and even found to be true concerning the nature of the debris, it would mark an unprecedented moment in commercial aviation history.

In the wake of the incident, the NTSB has reported that it is "investigating a cracked windscreen".

The full statement read: "The NTSB is investigating a cracked windscreen on a Boeing 737-8 [Max] during cruise flight near Moab, Utah, Thursday.

"Operating as United flight 1093 from DEN to LAX, airplane diverted safely to SLC. NTSB gathering radar, weather, flight recorder data. Windscreen being sent to NTSB laboratories for examination."

All passengers were subsequently taken to LA on a different plane.

Aeroplane cockpits have three layers with polymer in the middle and two layers of glass, one on the inside and one on the outside.

While the rumours of space debris causing this incident are very unlikely and far from confirmed it still remains a possibilty.

As per a recent study, two discarded rockets re-enter Earth's atmosphere each week.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia found airspaces in the northern US, Europe and around major cities in the Asia-Pacific are most at risk of uncontrolled re-entries.