The cockpit windows of two American Airlines Boeing 777-200s cracked at an altitude of 37,000 feet last week.
The first incident took place on September 12. An American Airlines 777-200 was en route from Dallas to Madrid. When the plane had just reached its cruising altitude of 37,000 feet, the pilot reported that there was a crack in one of the cockpit windows. The aircraft then descended to 16,000 feet and landed in Dallas more than an hour and a half after it took off there.
The second incident occurred just two days later on board another 777-200 from American Airlines. This aircraft was on its way from Dallas to Paris. When the plane flew at 37,000 feet, the same problem occurred: the pilot reported a crack in the cockpit windows. The flight managed to land safely in New York after the plane had circled for about an hour and a half to get rid of fuel.
It is unclear whether there is a causal relationship between the two incidents. In either case, the incidents occurred on older Boeing 777-200s, both flying at 37,000 feet when the problem arose. In addition, the incidents took place over a period of 2 days.
A similar incident occurred a year ago when an American Airlines 777-200 flew at 38,000 feet toward London Heathrow. The aircraft then diverted to Shannon airport, on the west coast of Ireland.