The pilot of a United Boeing 737 was forced to make an emergency landing after something intruded into his cabin. Thankfully, it wasn’t a passenger — instead, the intruder (it seems) was an object falling from space.

It should be noted that authorities have not yet confirmed with certainty what the object was, and events like this are *extremely* rare. In a 2023 report, the Federal Aviation Administration estimated the odds of space debris causing serious injury to an airline passenger at one in a trillion.

United Airlines 737 MAX pilot injured after the windshield cracked at 36,000 while flying from Denver to Los Angeles on Thursday.

Reports have suggested the possibility of the aircraft being hit by falling space debris or a small meteorite, though this remains unconfirmed.… pic.twitter.com/8qNg6aA0uE

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While not *serious*, per se, the injuries caused by the object falling was nothing to sneeze at. Broken glass covered the dashboard and cockpit, and the pilot had injuries consistent with glass cuts.

Still, there’s always a chance that it wasn’t a meteorite hitting the plane, though it’s unclear what else could be up there at 36,000 feet. Maybe this is the beginning of the alien invasion!