December 22, 2025 — 2.49pm Save Advertisement The explosion of a SpaceX rocket earlier this year put multiple passenger planes in danger, with one pilot declaring “Mayday” before being forced to fly through the debris. The experimental rocket ship belonging to Elon Musk’s company disintegrated minutes after lift-off in January, scattering fiery debris across the Caribbean region and causing widespread disruptions to air traffic. Pilots of three planes, carrying a total of 450 people, were forced to decide whether to fly through a field of rocket debris or risk running low on fuel over water, according to Federal Aviation Administration documents. The files, which The Wall Street Journal reviewed, revealed that the January 16 explosion posed a greater danger to planes in the air than was publicly known. The explosion rained a meteor-like shower of debris across parts of the Caribbean for about 50 minutes and could have put lives at risk, the FAA said. Fiery trails shooting through the sky were visible from the cockpits and cabins of commercial aircraft and private jets. If a piece of debris had struck an aircraft in flight, it could have caused severe damage to the plane and possible passenger fatalities. All flights eventually landed safely. The uncrewed Starship test flight was Musk’s seventh attempt at launching a rocket ship into space in his quest to make life on Mars a reality. Responding to the explosion, the billionaire posted on social media: “Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!” Advertisement During the incident, an air-traffic controller told one of the planes, a JetBlue flight en route to Puerto Rico: “You want to go to San Juan, it’s going to be at your own risk.” The other two, a private jet and Iberia Airlines flight, also declared fuel emergencies and travelled through the temporary no-fly zone, the WSJ reported. SpaceX’s mega rocket Starship launches for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. Credit: