Silicon Valley startup says its balloon may have cracked windshield of LA

PALO ALTO, Calif. - A Palo Alto-based company said one of its weather balloons may have struck a United Airlines flight mid-flight , injuring the pilot and prompting an emergency landing.

What we know:

United Airlines Flight 1093 – a Boeing 737 MAX 8 carrying 134 passengers and six crew members – was flying from Denver to Los Angeles on Thursday when, at about 36,000 ft., it collided with an object that cracked a layer of the aircraft’s multilayered windshield and left the pilot scratched and bruised.

The collision prompted the plane to make an emergency landing in Salt Lake City, where all passengers safely deplaned and were rebooked on another aircraft, arriving at Los Angeles International Airport about six hours late.

Images shared widely on X depicted the front of the aircraft