Japan Boeing 737-800 returned due to cracked cockpit window

Flight 1182 was en route to Toyama airport but returned to Sapporo-New Chitose airport after cracks were seen in the cockpit window, an ANA spokesman said.

The spokesperson added that there were no reports of injuries among the 59 passengers and six crew on board the flight. “The crack did not affect the flight’s controllability or pressurization,” the statement said.

This plane is not one of the Boeing 737 MAX 9s that recently had an emergency exit latch fall off in the US. But this incident has raised concerns about Boeing's aircraft.

Earlier, the US aviation regulator on Friday extended the indefinite flight ban on Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft for new safety checks and announced it would tighten oversight of Boeing's commercial aircraft lines.

Earlier this month, a Japan Airlines Airbus A350 burst into flames after colliding with a Japan Coast Guard earthquake rescue plane in Tokyo. All 367 passengers on the Airbus A350 survived, but five of the six crew members on the rescue plane died.

Hoang Anh (according to Nikkei, Reuters)