N825MH, A Boeing 767-432ER in the care of Delta Air Lines , had a windshield issue two hours into flight DL4 while cruising at 34,000 feet above sea level and as such, had to turn around over the Atlantic Ocean to land at Shannon Airport (SNN). According to among other sources, the Irish claire.fm, emergency crews were put on alert in case of brakes overheating or other potential issues with the 25-year old Boeing 767-400ER .
DL4 lands safely, met by Irish first responders According to the aforementioned claire.fm as well as The Aviation Herald, N825MH was cruising at 34,000 feet above sea level over the Atlantic Ocean when the windshield was overheating. An overheaded windshield can crack or shatter, depressurizing the Boeing 767-400ER within moments and deny all aboard necessary oxygen to breathe.
Get all the latest aviation news right here on Simple Flying. As a precaution in case the 767-400ER depressurized, the pilots descended to 10,000 feet above sea level. Simple Flying a couple of years ago posed the question what happens when an airplane depressurizes – and found the medical issues are rather severe if the airplane is above 10,000 feet above sea level due to the high risk of hypoxia.
How do pilots and passengers respond in the event of a depressurization? Due to that risk, oxygen masks and a limited supply of pressurized oxygen is kept aboard. If an airplane depressurizes, either automatically or by cockpit command, oxygen masks descend from overhead bins for pass.
