A Toronto-bound flight was forced to make an emergency landing in the United States this week after reports the cockpit window shattered mid-flight.

Canada Jetlines flight AU503 was travelling from Cancun to Toronto on Tuesday afternoon when the flight was forced to suddenly descend and divert to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Flight logs show that the Airbus A320 aircraft travelling the route took off from Cancun International Airport in Mexico at 5:48 p.m. on Tuesday, bound for Toronto Pearson International Airport.

At approximately 8:52 p.m., with the aircraft at a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet and travelling at speeds up to 532 mph, logs show that the plane began to descend quickly and divert towards nearby Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

A @CA_Jetlines Cancun-Toronto flight was forced to land in the U.S. after the cockpit windshield reportedly "shattered" - 🎥 @flightaware #Toronto #Cancun pic.twitter.com/SOj021p6Mk

— blogTO (@blogTO) August 24, 2023

A passenger aboard the flight explains to blogTO that "there was an incident where the windshield in the cockpit shattered, and we had to make an emergency landing in Charlotte."

"When arriving on the runway, there were emergency vehicles lined up. They then had us sit on the plane for about 1.5 hours before moving us into a holding area in the airport, while we waited for another plane to arrive."

Here's the shattered windshield on @CA_Jetlines Cancun-Toronto flight that made emergency landing in the U.S. - 📷 Robbie Goldman #Toronto #Cancun pic.twitter.com/mkD1csZrmR

— blogTO (@blogTO) August 24, 2023

Another passenger on X (formerly Twitter) corroborates this claim.

Plane just emergency landed in Charlotte enroute to Toronto. The windshield of the plane cracked on Canadian Jetlines. Whole bunch of emergency vehicles lined up for our arrival but everyone is fine.

What do we say to death? pic.twitter.com/n6t6F7UNQF

— James Mackay (@JamesHMackay) August 23, 2023

Passengers were reportedly ushered into a hallway of the Charlotte airport while a new plane was brought in.

I wish they would let us out past customs but no.... wait for a new plane in the hallway

— James Mackay (@JamesHMackay) August 23, 2023

The ordeal stretched well beyond the listed typical flight time of about 3.5 hours, as a passenger reported touching down in Toronto after 4:30 a.m. the following morning — almost 12 hours after departing Cancun.

Just touched down in Toronto, rental car not here until 11am now. I'm staying 50min away. How do you hotel shop for 5am to noon

— James Mackay (@JamesHMackay) August 23, 2023

blogTO has reached out to Canada Jetlines via email seeking immediate comment on the incident, and will update this article if the airline provides a statement.

No incident reports have yet been posted to U.S. or Canadian Transportation Safety Boards, though similar incidents in the past have been attributed to high-velocity bird strikes.

The aircraft involved in the incident is just one of three operated by Canada Jetlines.

The Mississauga-based airline is among the latest low-cost carriers to enter the Canadian travel market, however, the fledgling company has already experienced some difficulties in its relatively brief existence since taking to the skies in 2022.

Initial reviews for the start-up airline experience included a handful of negative takes from frustrated passengers who called the service "stressful."

Similarly, passengers of AU503 didn't seem too pleased about their ordeal, marking another minor hiccup in the airline's reputation.