Could a radiosonde (weather balloon instrument) been the cause of a cracked windshield of a United Airlines 737 jet? It’s possible, but in my opinion, something isn’t adding up. Windborne a relatively new company launches autonomous weather balloons that navigate the globe giving us vital weather information.
Their radiosondes weigh approximately 2-3 lbs while a typical NWS (National Weather Service) radiosonde weighs 2-3 oz.
While a typical NWS weather balloon launch lasts approx. 2-3 hours and rises to about 100k feet before the balloon pops, a parachute deploys then carrying the radiosonde back to the surface all while gathering vital information.
The windborne weather balloon operates a bit differently as theirs circles the globe and stays aloft for an extended period of time. Now, with that being said, could one of their radiosonde instruments been the cause of the windshield shatter on a commercial jet? It’s possible but there’s more research being done into HOW/WHY this occurred. With an object as light as a radiosonde, typically a commercial jet would deflect an object that size.
Here’s a look at how Windborne weather balloons operate:
