Boeing 737-800 plane turns back in Japan due to cracked cockpit window

A domestic flight of All Nippon Airways (ANA, Japan) had to return to its departure point on January 13, after a crack was discovered in the cockpit window while the plane was in the air, Reuters reported.

Specifically, a spokesman for All Nippon Airways said that the flight numbered 1182 had an incident, departing from Sapporo-New Chitose Airport (Hokkaido Province) to Toyama Airport in the same province. This aircraft was a Boeing 737-800 manufactured by the Boeing Corporation (USA).

The crack was found in the outermost layer of four windows surrounding the cockpit. An ANA spokesperson added that all 59 passengers and six crew members landed safely and there were no reports of injuries, ABC News reported.

"The crack did not affect the flight's controllability or pressurization," an ANA spokesman said.

The plane with the crack this time is not a Boeing 737 MAX 9, which is under investigation after the incident on January 5. At that time, a control panel in the cabin of a Boeing 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines (USA) exploded, creating a hole in the fuselage while the plane was in mid-air.

The missing torso was later found in a Portland, Oregon, teacher's backyard.

The US aviation regulator on January 12 extended the indefinite flight ban on the Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft for safety inspections and announced it would tighten supervision of Boeing's operations.