Summary
- A Norse Atlantic Boeing 787-9 experienced a cracked windshield mid-flight but was in a position to safely proceed to its destination without incident.
- The affected aircraft, registered as G-CKWD, was operating flight Z0-784 from Orlando to London when the incident occurred.
- After the aircraft landed, it underwent roughly 50 hours of repairs before returning to service for Norse Atlantic.
On Saturday, December 30, 2023, a Norse Atlantic aircraft suffered a cracked windshield mid-flight. Per The Aviation Herald, the Norse Atlantic aircraft, which is a Boeing 787-9, was flying from Orlando, FL, to London, UK, when it experienced a crack on the left windshield. Nevertheless, only the outer pane of the left-hand windshield was shattered, which enabled the flight crew to proceed to its eventual destination without further incident.
Windshield cracking
The affected Norse Atlantic Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is registered as G-CKWD. This aircraft was operating flight Z0-784, which is a day by day service that connects Orlando International Airport (MCO) to London Gatwick International Airport (LGW). This flight is scheduled to depart Orlando at roughly 20:25 local time and arrive in London at 10:00 local time.
Photo: Norse Atlantic Airways.
On December 30, G-CKWD departed MCO barely late, around 21:07 local time. The aircraft safely flew to an altitude of roughly FL390 (39,000 feet). Nevertheless, at about 2 hours and 50 minutes into the scheduled flight, the flight crew heard a loud bang and experienced a flash near the front of the aircraft. The incident occurred roughly 160 nautical miles away from Halifax, Nova Scotia. The pilots on the flight deck realized that the outer windshield pane on the left side had shattered. Nevertheless, pressurization inside the aircraft remained normal. After going through standard checklists and consulting with each dispatch and maintenance, the flight crew determined that the aircraft could proceed to its destination safely.
Per The Aviation Herald, the Canadian TSB reported that the flight crew of the Norse Atlantic 787 declared PAN PAN, which is a world standard, as a precaution. The Dreamliner continued to its destination, London Gatwick, and landed safely with none further incident. The rest of the flight took slightly below five hours.
After the aircraft landed, it was put into maintenance to repair the windshield. In total, the aircraft would undergo repairs for about 50 hours before being returned to service, per The Aviation Herald. G-CKWD returned to service for Norse Atlantic on January 2. The aircraft operated Z0-711, which connects London-Gatwick to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The ten-hour flight departs London at 10:35 local time and arrives in Los Angeles at roughly 14:10 local time.
Norse Atlantic Boeing 787 Dreamliner
This specific aircraft is simply 5.75 years old and was originally ordered by ILFC in June 2007. Its first flight occurred on April 10, 2018, and was delivered just a couple of weeks later, on April 25, 2018. Per ch-aviation, Norse Atlantic Airways took delivery of this aircraft in early 2022. It transitioned the operation of this aircraft to Norse Atlantic (UK), a subsidiary of the Norse Atlantic company, in early 2023. The airline has operated this aircraft since, typically on long-haul transatlantic routes.
Photo: Photofex_AUT | Shutterstock
Norse Atlantic (United Kingdom) currently operates six Boeing 787s, although one is currently inactive. Its parent company, Norse Atlantic Airways, owns a further 4 Boeing 787s.
G-CKWD has an ordinary seating configuration of 338 total seats, which has similarities to the airline’s other Dreamliners. Norse Atlantic splits these seats into 282 economy class seats and 56 premium economy seats. Through the windshield-cracking incident, 264 passengers were onboard the aircraft.