Flights Diverted After SpaceX Debris Falls Into Path of Planes

The launch site of the SpaceX Starship rocket near Boca Chica, Texas, on Jan. 14. 

Photographer: Sergio Flores/AFP/Getty Images

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Commercial flights operated by JetBlue Airways Corp. and American Airlines Group Inc. were forced to take avoidance action after a failed SpaceX Starship test flight exploded on Thursday.

Some flights over the Caribbean were seen diverting or circling mid-flight on tracking website Flightradar24. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that it slowed and diverted aircraft around the area where the space vehicle debris was falling.