A domestic All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight in Japan was forced to return to its departure airport after a crack was discovered on the cockpit window during the flight. The incident occurred on ANA flight NH1182, which was traveling from Sapporo in Hokkaido to Toyama on Japan’s main island, Honshu. The Boeing 737 aircraft landed back at Sapporo’s New Chitose airport without any reported injuries to the 59 passengers and six crew members on board.

The crack, located on the outermost layer of the cockpit window, was identified as the plane passed over Hakodate. Despite the discovery, the spokesperson for ANA reassured that the crack did not affect the flight’s control or pressurization. Aviation expert John Strickland commented that the cause of the crack was still unknown, suggesting possibilities such as a bird strike, hailstone impact, or stress fracture due to wear and tear.

As a precautionary measure, the airline will likely replace the entire window to ensure the safety of the aircraft. Meanwhile, alternative flights were arranged for the affected passengers. Notably, this incident involving a Boeing 737 aircraft comes in the wake of the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after a recent blowout incident on an Alaska Airlines plane.

The FAA has extended the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes for further safety checks and announced increased oversight of Boeing. The safety of American travelers was cited as the primary reason for the continued grounding of the 171 planes with the same configuration as the one involved in the recent incident. Despite these developments, the ANA flight in question was not a Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, but an earlier version, as confirmed by Mr. Strickland.