A rogue weather balloon was revealed in a new report to be the mystery object that smashed into a United Airlines jet last month , shattering the windshield and showering the cockpit in glass as the plane cruised over Utah at 36,000 feet.

The injured captain, who suffered multiple lacerations from flying glass, was forced to make an emergency landing in Salt Lake City when the stray balloon suddenly slammed into the Boeing 737 aircraft around 6:43 a.m. on Oct. 16, the National Transportation Safety Board announced Friday.

A day earlier, a WindBorne Systems global sounding balloon had launched from Spokane, Washington, drifting south through Nevada before looping back north into Utah, according to the preliminary report.

The California-based aerospace company said it had lost contact

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