Cracked windshield forces plane to divert

Footage shared by passenger shows shattered window pane

A Delta flight had to divert when a windshield crack was found mid-flight (Getty Images)

A plane was forced to divert when a windshield pane cracked shortly after take-off.

Delta flight 1268, which departed Salt Lake City, Utah, for Seattle on Wednesday, had to divert back to its departure airport when the window crack was discovered.

Footage shared by a passenger with local media shows a shattered windshield on the left-hand side of the cockpit of the Airbus A320 aircraft.

“Delta flight 1268 returned to Salt Lake City shortly after departing due to a crack on the windshield,” a Delta spokesperson confirmed to The Independent.

“The flight landed safely without incident. We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience.”

According to flight tracking site Flight Radar 24, the flight landed back at Salt Lake City 48 minutes after take-off.

Plane windscreens aren't uncommon. Last month, a transatlantic flight was forced to divert to Ireland when pilots noticed a crack in the cockpit windscreen while flying at 38,000ft.

Air Canada flight AC857 was flying from London Heathrow to Toronto when a crack in the side window was discovered mid-flight.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft had passed Ireland and was beginning its journey across the Atlantic when the decision was made to turn back and land in Dublin.