Spirit Airlines Airbus A319 Experiences Cracked Cabin Window

A Spirit Airlines flight en route to Medellín was forced to divert due to a cracked cabin window. The Airbus A319 was operating a scheduled flight to the Colombian city from Orlando when the incident occurred.

Flight NK1473 departed Orlando International Airport (MCO) at 10:14 on May 2nd, bound for José María Córdova International Airport (MDE) in Medellín. While cruising at 35,000 feet around 150 nm northwest of Cartagena, the alarm was raised as to the cracked window, and the crew decided to divert to the coastal city’s Rafael Núñez International Airport (CTG).

The aircraft landed safely at 13:18, around 45 minutes after the crack was discovered, and following 30 minutes of circling at 4,000 feet just off the coast of Cartagena. Nobody onboard is believed to have been injured, although the aircraft remains on the ground in Cartagena, over 48 hours later. The flight’s routing can be seen on FlightRadar24.com:

Spirit Airlines and the Airbus A319

The flight was operated by one of Spirit Airlines’ Airbus A319s, registered as N506NK. According to data from ch-aviation.com, this aircraft was delivered new to the ultra-low-cost carrier in November 2005, making it over 17 years old. The airline is looking to retire its aging Airbus A319 fleet by 2025, replacing them with the Airbus A319neo.

The aircraft N506NK is one of 27 Airbus A319s that make up Spirit Airlines’ fleet, each carrying a total of 145 passengers, with 10 of the airline’s Big Front seats, and 135 economy class seats.

Photo: Spirit Airlines

Given that Spirit Airlines has regular passenger services from Cartagena (to both Orlando and Fort Lauderdale), it was a sensible choice of diversion airport, with ground staff familiar with the Spirit Airlines product on hand to assist passengers with onward travel arrangements.

Spirit Airlines flies daily between Orlando and Medellín, facing competition on the route on a seasonal basis from Colombian flag carrier Avianca. On its flights between Fort Lauderdale and Medellín, the competition comes in the form of JetBlue, with which Spirit Airlines is involved in an ongoing merger saga.

How common are cracked aircraft windows?

Thanks to the robustness and strength of aircraft windows, cracking is not a common occurrence, particularly in the passenger cabin like on Spirit Airlines’ flight NK1473. Back in November 2019, a crack in the passenger window of a SpiceJet Boeing 737 made the headlines. However, the aircraft was not in any danger as the crack was on the inner window pane, which is not an integral part of the aircraft’s structure.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Further recent examples include a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-200 and an Air Canada Boeing 787-8, both of which diverted as a result of window cracking, this time in the cockpit.