An Airbus A321 plane taking off from London Stansted Airport in October experienced unexpected damage to four windows, two of which were completely missing. The incident occurred during a flight to Orlando International Airport in Florida. The damage, caused by high-powered lights used during a filming event the previous day, was detected after takeoff. The plane landed back at Stansted Airport safely shortly afterwards.
Passengers and crew members noticed increased noise and cold temperatures in the cabin, and the loadmaster discovered the damaged windows while investigating the noise. The crew then decided to stop the plane’s climb and return to Stansted Airport for inspection.
Upon inspection, it was revealed that two glass panes were missing from the cabin windows, and a third had come loose. A broken outer panel was also found during a routine runway inspection, while a fourth window was discovered protruding from the left side of the fuselage.
The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) released a special bulletin detailing the incident and noted that it could have had “more serious consequences” if the “integrity of the window” had been “lost with a higher differential pressure.” This incident occurred after the plane was used during taxiing for four to five and a half hours the day before the flight, causing rising temperatures to potentially damage the windows.
The AAIB will continue to investigate the incident to “fully understand the properties of the lights used and how this risk can be managed in the future.” Aircraft owners and operators are advised to consider the danger posed by such activities to minimize the risk of damage to aircraft.
CNN has contacted the AAIB for further comment.