

The SpaceX explosion that put flights in danger
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A JetBlue plane was en route to Puerto Rico when its pilots got word from air-traffic control they were about to fly through a danger zone. The plane initially went into a holding pattern to stay safe.
“You want to go to San Juan," an air-traffic controller told the JetBlue flight crew, “it’s going to be at your own risk." The risk that January evening was from an experimental SpaceX rocket ship that exploded minutes after liftoff. The jet’s pilots had a decision to make while positioned north of San Juan: continue the trip through a possible rocket debris field, or risk running low on fuel over water. Two other planes—one operated by Iberia Airlines and a private jet—ended up in a similar quandary.
They declared fuel emergencies and traveled through the temporary no-fly zone, Federal Aviation Administration records show. All three flights, which records show carried a total of some 450 people, landed safely. FAA documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show the Jan.
16 explosion of SpaceX’s Starship posed a greater danger to planes in the air than was publicly known. The explosion rained fiery debris across parts of the Caribbean region for roughly 50 minutes, the documents said. A piece of debris striking an aircraft in flight could have catastrophic consequences: severe damage to planes and passenger fatalities.
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