B737 flight crew reported the Captain's window opened on takeoff and a headset cord was lodged in the window track. After removing the cord and closing the window a return to the departure airport was made due to passenger duress.
Synopsis
B737 flight crew reported the Captain's window opened on takeoff and a headset cord was lodged in the window track. After removing the cord and closing the window a return to the departure airport was made due to passenger duress.
Narrative
On take off roll around 80 kts CA window opened. He transferred control of the aircraft to me while he attempted to close it. He realized he couldn't close it because his headset cord got stuck in the track and by then we were already in the high speed regime. Since his headset cord was snapped in half he was unable to communicate through our radios and was unable to be heard over the wind. We continued the takeoff and leveled off at 4000 with gear and flaps down. I notified ATC that we need some time to run through things and that we were not declaring an emergency. The CA and I were able to communicate through pen and paper that I would keep the airplane and the radios while the CA checked in with Flight Attendants. After checking in with the Flight Attendants the CA started working on his window and was able to remove the cord and close the window. We reassessed the situation and felt that with the aircraft returned to normal and us both feeling well we could continue but after reevaluating with flight attendants the state of the cabin seemed to be under duress so we decided to return to the field. We burned fuel for 25 minutes and landed without any issues.
Second reporter narrative
Captain takeoff. During preflight I checked for full operation of the window; opening and closing. On take off roll at approximately 80 knots Captain's window came open violently and severed Captain's headset cord. Wind noise was relatively light at the time so I transferred control of the aircraft to the First Officer and attempted to close the window. Unbeknownst to me the remainder of my headset cord was jammed in the window track; so I was unable to close the window. I returned focus on the takeoff roll and we were already in the high speed regime; so I elected to continue the takeoff. First Officer took off normally; and climbed to 4000 feet; and let ATC know we had a problem and might have to return so we descended back to 3000'. At that point it was too loud in the flight deck and I was writing notes to the First Officer to communicate. I attempted to close the window again and was unable to. I communicated to the First Officer that we were going to return immediately and called up the Flight Attendants to inform them that my window was open and I couldn't get it closed and we would be on the ground in about 10 minutes; and asked if they could let the passengers know since the flight deck was extremely loud. I started set up the aircraft for arrival and informed Dispatch. We were straight and level with the autopilot engaged so I took the opportunity to try and close the window one last time. I saw that the problem was part of my headset cord (specifically the battery pack) was jammed in the track so I gave that a good tug and pulled it loose and was able to close the window. At that point I tugged on the window firmly and was confident it was seated properly and pressurization was already keeping it from coming open again. I felt comfortable continuing the flight but after discussing it with the flight attendants; many people in the cabin were very unsettled and extremely nervous about continuing; so I elected to return to ZZZ. I didn't feel an overweight landing was justified at that point so we burned off fuel for approximately 25 minutes and landed 40 flap to be more gentle on the brakes; approximately 1000# below maximum landing weight and taxied in uneventfully.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.