Some air travelers are rethinking stepping foot on a plane again after making a terrifying discovery following a recent flight.
Passengers on a October 4 flight from London to Florida noticed it was unusually noisy and chilly after takeoff. As it turns out, their plane was missing several windowpanes.
According to the U.K.'s Air Accident Investigation Branch, the airplane had four damaged windowpanes, including two that were completely missing.
Investigators say the cabin windows were damaged by high power lights used during a filming event, and that the damage was only discovered after takeoff.
The investigative report indicates 11 crew members and 9 passengers were on the plane when it became clear something was wrong.
"Several passengers recalled that after takeoff the aircraft cabin seemed noisier and colder than they were used to," the report noted.
A crewmember walked towards the back of the aircraft to investigate and noticed an increased cabin noise as he approached the over-wing exits.
"His attention was drawn to a cabin window on the left side of the aircraft. He observed that the window seal was flapping in the airflow and the windowpane appeared to have slipped down," the report said. "He described the cabin noise as 'loud enough to damage your hearing.'"
As the plane approached 14,000 feet, a co-pilot inspected the window and made the decision to return London Stansted Airport. The flight was in the air for a total of 36 minutes, according to the report.
During the flight, the crew had only been aware of an issue with a single windowpane. That changed after the plane landed.
"Having parked and shut down, the crew inspected the aircraft from the outside and saw, that two cabin windowpanes were missing and a third was dislodged," the report said, noting that cabin pressure was normal throughout the flight.
All four affected windows were adjacent to each other. Two window assemblies were missing, the inner pane and seal from a third window were displaced but partially retained in the airframe, and a fourth window was protruding, according to the report. A shattered outer pane was also recovered during a routine runway inspection after the aircraft landed.
An detailed inspection of the aircraft revealed "the foam ring material on the back of the cabin liners was found to be melted in the areas adjacent to the windows that were damaged or missing." The inspection noted that the damaged windowpanes were visibly deformed and shrunk, and no longer formed an effective interface with the rubber seals.
The report determined that the windows "sustained thermal damage and distortion because of elevated temperatures while illuminated for approximately four to five and a half hours during filming activity the day before the flight."
"The day before the occurrence flight, the aircraft had been used for filming on the ground, during which external lights had been shone through the cabin windows to give the illusion of a sunrise," the report said. "It is likely that the flood lights were positioned closer than 10 [meters]."
The report noted that the issue could have "resulted in more serious consequences, especially if window integrity was lost at higher
differential pressure." No one was injured by the window malfunctions.
Officials say the investigation will continue in order to "understand how a similar occurrence can be prevented from occurring again."