A mysterious object which smashed the windscreen of an American airline, spraying the pilots with shards of glass while 36,000 feet in the air, has finally been identified.

The collision occurred on October 16 when a United Airlines jet was hit with an apparent weather balloon near Moab, Utah, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Thursday.

The pilots made an emergency landing despite the jarring incident and safely landed at Salt Lake City with 112 passengers and crew onboard.

While the captain sustained minor injuries, the other 111 occupants of the aircraft were unscathed.

WindBorne Systems last month said it believes one of its balloons struck and cracked the windshield of United Flight 1093, a Boeing 737-8.

The NTSB said the radar track for the WindBorne long-duration,

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