A Delta Airlines Boeing 737-900, registration N809DN performing flight DL-589 from Minneapolis, MN to Seattle, WA (USA) with 169 people on board, was climbing out of Minneapolis’ runway 30R when departure attempted to contact the aircraft multiple times but didn’t receive a response. Departure called a company aircraft to talk to Delta dispatch and send DL-589 onto a specific frequency but cancelled the request soon after telling the company crew that ATC had gotten hold of DL-589. DL-589 reported on the tower frequency again stating they had their window open, a lot of background noise could be heard, the crew stated they couldn’t hear a word. DL-589 stopped the climb at about 7000 feet and returned to Minneapolis for a safe landing on runway 30L about 20 minutes after departure. The crew advised the sliding window had come off the rails.
The airline reported there had been a problem with the seals of the first officer’s windshield.
A replacement Boeing 737-900 registration N824DN reached Seattle with a delay of 2.5 hours.