Boeing 737-800 Jet Forced to Turn Around After Cockpit Window Cracks

A domestic All Nippon Airways flight in Japan was forced to turn around on Saturday after a crack was found in the cockpit window of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft, Reuters reported.

ANA Flight 1182 was traveling to Toyama Airport before it canceled the flight and returned to the Sapporo-New Chitose airport, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. A spokesperson for the airline told Reuters a crack was found on the outermost of the four layers of windows surrounding the cockpit. None of the 59 passengers and six crewmembers were injured.

"The crack was not something that affected the flight's control or pressurization," the ANA spokesperson told Reuters.

The incident comes as Boeing's manufacturing practices are under increased scrutiny by U.S. federal officials after a near-disastrous midair incident occurred last week. A Boeing 737-9 Max operated by Alaska Airlines was forced to make an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon, on Jan. 5 after a door plug blew off the fuselage.

Several of the passengers of that flight have already sued Boeing over the incident, which they described as a "waking nightmare." The plaintiffs are seeking class-action status to represent all 171 passengers of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.

“The pressure change made ears bleed and combined with low oxygen, loud wind noise and traumatic stress made heads ache severely,” the plaintiffs allege in the lawsuit. “Passengers were shocked, terrorized and confused, thrust into a waking nightmare, hoping they would live long enough to walk the earth again.”

The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded all 737-9 Max jets until investigations conducted by itself and the National Transportation Safety Board have concluded. The FAA on Friday said it would audit the Boeing 737-9 Max production line — and its suppliers — to evaluate the company's compliance with approved quality procedures.

In addition to the door plug that failed on the Alaska flight, the NTSB discovered that the jet had a faulty cockpit door that Boeing failed to make public. United Airlines — one of two operators that use the 737-9 Max with door plugs — on Monday said it had found loose bolts and other pieces on a least five of its Boeing 737 MAX door plugs.