An inquiry into the unexplained object which broke the window of a United Airlines flight has confirmed that the offender was a weather balloon.

The collision on October 18 caused the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to make an emergency landing near Moab, Utah. 

WindBorne Systems previously said it believed one of its weather balloons struck and cracked the windshield of United Flight 1093 as it was cruising at around 36,000 feet.

Now the National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed the company’s suspicions and said the track for the WindBorne long-duration, high-altitude weather balloon was consistent with the path of the United jet. 

The balloon had left Spokane, Washington, the previous day, passing over Oregon and Nevada, before finally flying into the airspace above Utah. 

The impact resulted in both pilots being showered with fragments of glass.

The captain sustained multiple superficial lacerations to his right arm, the NTSB said. The first officer was not injured. 

The captain said he noticed a distant object on the horizon, but did not have time to mention it to his colleague before there was a significant impact to the windshield and a loud bang. 

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said last month the incident ‘could have been really devastating for the aircraft and those on board’.

There were initial concerns that the damage could have been caused by space debris. 

Prior government studies have suggested an extremely remote chance of debris hitting jets in flight.

Aeroplane windshields are multi-layered to prevent a loss of cabin pressure if damaged in flight. 

The NTSB said the flight departed Denver with 112 passengers and crew. 

The captain declared an emergency and diverted safely to Salt Lake City.

WindBorne previously said it has conducted more than 4,000 launches and files a notice with the Federal Aviation Administration for every launch. 

Speaking to Ars Technica, Kai Marshland, co-founder of WindBorne, said: ‘I think this was a WindBorne balloon. We learned about UA1093 and the potential that it was related to one of our balloons at 11 pm PT on Sunday and immediately looked into it.

‘At 6 am PT, we sent our preliminary investigation to both NTSB and FAA, and are working with both of them to investigate further.’

The company said it has rolled out ‘immediate’ changes to ‘minimise’ the amount of time its balloons spend between 30,000 and 40,000 feet in the air.

Air balloons are amazing, but they should not be taking up air space. Imagine if the balloon had struck the engine.

Air balloons use smart AI – not so smart if they’re colliding with a commercial aeroplane on its planned flight path, but thankfully nobody was badly hurt and everyone was safe – gratitude to the amazing pilots.

However, there needs to be accountability for this because this could have ended very badly

There needs to be accountability for this. This could’ve ended extremely badly.

Things like air balloons and drones, et cetera, should not be flying so high in the sky. It’s dangerous and can cause crashes in the air, and nobody wants that, especially if you’re a pilot or passenger.

At the end of the day, things should not be flying in the sky – Superman wouldn’t put up with any of this crap!