Summary
- GOL flight G3-2074 faced a cracked windshield at 38,000 feet, prompting a safe diversion to São Paulo airport.
- Passengers were re-accommodated on a replacement flight, causing a delay of almost three hours in their journey.
- The Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft involved was grounded for inspection before resuming service the following day.
A Brazilian domestic flight on June 5 was diverted unexpectedly to São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) when a cracked windshield occurred during its flight at 38,000 feet. Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes (more commonly known as GOL) flight G3-2074 departed Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) and was en route to Navegantes–Ministro Victor Konder International Airport (NVT), in the Santa Catarina in Southern Brazil.
According to data from Flightradar24, an online flight status database, GOL flight G3-2074 was scheduled to depart from Rio de Janeiro at 12:50 on June 5 and pushed back from the gate almost on schedule at 15:56. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-8, departed in an easterly direction over the Guanabara Bay before turning to head south-west towards southern Brazil.
Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying
Drama at 38,000 feet
As the aircraft was traveling towards the Santa Catarina state, the flight data shows the aircraft was only 20 minutes into the 70-minute journey when the cracked windshield was identified. The pilot appears to have immediately reduced the aircraft’s altitude to 10,000 feet and diverted to São Paulo-Guarulhos. On the approach to São Paulo, the flight circled the east of the city before landing on the airport’s easterly runway 77 minutes after takeoff.
Passengers were re-accommodated onto a replacement service bearing the same flight number, which was scheduled to depart from São Paulo-Guarulhos at 15:30; it was only airborne by 16:14. The ordeal meant travelers only arrived in Navegantes by 17:05 day. Almost three hours after the initial arrival time, their flight had been able to operate directly from Rio de Janeiro.
Aircraft involved
PR-GGL, the aircraft with the cracked windshield, is a Boeing 737 MAX 8 and was first flown in April 2009, according to ch-Aviation, an online airline database. It was delivered to GOL in May later that year. Powered by two x CFMI CFM56-7B26 engines, it can accommodate up to 186 passengers in an all-economy configuration. The serial number is 36148.
Once the aircraft landed safely in São Paulo, it remained grounded for inspection and repair before returning to scheduled service the following day, June 6, as G3-7680 to Buenos Aires, Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP).
Photo: Kevin Porter | Shutterstock
The aircraft that repatriated the stranded travelers from São Paulo to Navegantes was also a Boeing 737 MAX 8, registration PR-GXJ, serial number 36923. This specific airplane flew in July 2013 and was delivered the following month. It is 10.9 years of age and has the same all-economy class configuration.

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