Cockpit window seal problem forces Delta flight to return to MSP Airport

A Delta Air Lines flight from the Twin Cities on its way to Seattle made an emergency landing back at its starting point late Tuesday morning because of a broken cockpit window, officials said.

Flight 589 departed the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport about 11:25 a.m. only to turn around over Medina and return about 11:40 a.m., according to Flightaware.com, a flight-tracking website.

Emergency vehicles met the Boeing 737 on the tarmac, MSP spokesman Patrick Hogan said.

No injuries among the crew or 169 passengers were reported.

Delta spokeswoman Lisa Hellerstedt said the plane had "an issue with the first officer's window seal. The flight taxied to the gate, where maintenance [was] evaluating the aircraft."

She said there was "no indication of any anomaly with the window prior to the departure."

Hellerstedt said there was no pressure loss.

A substitute aircraft took over and the flight was on its way to Seattle before 2 p.m., she said.

Another Boeing aircraft also had to turn back while in flight Friday because of cockpit window damage. An Icelandair flight from Orlando to Iceland was over Canada "when pilots noticed a crack in one of the cockpit windows," a statement from the airline read.

The plane made an emergency landing in eastern Quebec province. A witness' photo posted online showed the captain's front window with substantial damage.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482 Kristen Leigh Painter • 612-673-4767