A flight passenger has shared a video of the terrifying moment that a window on his plane cracked. TikTok user Tristan was on flying a Poland Airlines flight from Warsaw to New York when the incident occurred.
As the aircraft made its descent into John F Kennedy Airport, the window suddenly began to crack, the Mirror reports. The video shows three passengers in the row beside the window of the Boeing 787-8 quickly move away from their seats in a panic.
One woman's scream alerts members of the flight crew to what is happening and a safety message urges passengers to remain calm. However, the flight, which was north east of New York, went on to descend to 10,000 feet in the next 15 minutes.
There was a safe landing at JFK, The Aviation Herald reports, and the plane returned back to Poland just five hours after the chaos. The airline said that the electrophotochromatic layer used to darken the glass was affected but not the tightness of the window.
While this does happen occasionally, it is infrequent. Pilots will descend to reduce the pressure and plan on a diversion if necessary. According to FAA regulations, a window has to be able to withstand a pressure at least 33 per cent greater than the pressure outside.
This means the window can withstand at least another 378lbs of force. Regardless, the window will now be replaced in Poland.
Earlier this month, a Polish Airlines 787-8 plane had to divert back to Warsaw when a crack was found on a windshield. The flight was heading to Toronto when the crack was discovered close to Stavanger, Norway on Sunday, August 14.
The captain decided to return to Poland and to avoid further damage or a loss of pressure, the plane was lowered to 10,000 feet. The aircraft then safely returned to Poland.
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