Experts say a United Airlines jet whose windshield cracked open at 36,000 feet was likely hit by a weather balloon.
The plane had originally taken off from an airport in Denver on Thursday night before making an emergency landing in Salt Lake City.
Although investigators are still investigating how United Airlines 1093’s windshield broke, John Dean, CEO and co-founder of WindBorne Systems, has claimed that one of his weather balloons is the culprit.
"I think this was a WindBorne balloon," he said. "We learned about UA1093 and the potential that it was related to one of our balloons at 11 pm PT on Sunday and immediately looked into it.
“At 6 am PT, we sent our preliminary investigation to both NTSB and FAA, and are working with both of them to investigate further."
Yes, I think this was a WindBorne balloon. We learned about UA1093 and the potential that it was related to one of our balloons at 11pm PT on Sunday and immediately looked into it. At 6am PT, we sent our preliminary investigation to both NTSB and FAA, and are working with both of… https://t.co/TDtyt08fMe
— John Dean (@johndeanl) October 21, 2025
The CEO’s post on X replied to another social media user, who suggested that the bizarre marks on the front of the plane made it look as though it had been “sandblasted.”
“Here's what the operational part of the @WindBorneWx weather balloon looks like - they use sand as ballast,” Scott Manley, a self-described “Internet Rocket Scientist” and a pilot, wrote. “And here's the plane, I now understand why the paint on the window frame looks like it's been sand blasted.”
The investigation into the possible collision is ongoing. After deplaning in Salt Lake City, all passengers safely boarded a second flight to LAX.
One pilot was treated for minor injuries after the incident.
Although Dean says that his balloons are “designed to not pose a risk to human life,” he also said that he is “not okay” with the alleged collision causing the pilot's injury.
Airplane windshields are designed with multiple layers, which allows them to sustain damage from debris, severe weather, or bird strikes while in the air.
Last week, United Airlines gave The Independent a statement about the incident.
“On Thursday, United flight 1093 landed safely in Salt Lake City to address damage to its multilayered windshield,” the statement read. “We arranged for another aircraft to take customers to Los Angeles later that day and our maintenance team is working to return the aircraft to service.”
WindBorne Systems said that the collision occurred shortly after the company rolled out changes to “minimize time spent between 30,000 and 40,000 feet.”
"We are working closely with the FAA on this matter,” the spokesperson said. “We immediately rolled out changes to minimize time spent between 30,000 and 40,000 feet.
“These changes are already live with immediate effect.
“Additionally, we are further accelerating our plans to use live flight data to autonomously avoid planes, even if the planes are at a non-standard altitude.
“We are also actively working on new hardware designs to further reduce impact force magnitude and concentration.”
Thousands of weather balloons are launched every day in various parts of the globe to help scientists monitor atmospheric conditions. Each balloon carries vital equipment that measures wind speed, temperature, and atmospheric pressure.
According to the aerospace company’s website, WindBorne System’s balloons are part of its mission to build a “planetary nervous system” that tracks the “most immediately destructive aspects” of climate change.
The Independent has contacted United Airlines and John Dean.
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