Second Time in Five Years: Willis Tower Skydeck Cracks Under Tourists

The Willis Tower (C), formerly known as the Sears Tower, dominates the southern end of the downtown skyline in Chicago, Ill., on March 4, 2015. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Newlyweds Jesus and Karly Pintado were visiting Chicago’s Willis Tower on the night of June 10 when they noticed the building’s Skydeck was cracking.

“I hear a noise like ‘ksh ksh ksh’ and it cracked,” Jesus Pintado told WTHR. “A woman with two little kids and they looked like pale because the whole glass is cracked.”

Karly Pintado told CBS2 that she had no intention of walking on the glass after seeing it break.

“I’m scared of heights in general so when I saw that happen, I was like nope, not going on,” she added.

The Pintados, who got married last week, went to the ledge, which is about 1,300 feet above the ground.

“I think something fell from the ceiling because I saw like a little metallic piece, like a square, and it was in the middle of the crack of the glass,” he said.

The Willis Tower, known as the Sears Tower, confirmed to USA Today that no one was in any danger.

“The protective coating which acts like a screen protector for the Ledge experienced some minor cracking,” a spokesperson told USA Today. “No one was ever in danger and the Ledge was immediately closed. We replaced the coating Monday night and the Ledge was open for business as usual yesterday.”

Not the First Time

In 2014, NBC Chicago reported that there was a crack under the feet of tourists. At that time, Alejandro Garibay, his cousins, and brother were in the glass enclosure when they heard cracking.

“Crazy feeling and experience,” Garibay said.

A spokesperson for the building said that the Skydeck was temporarily closed for inspection.

“This coating does not affect the structural integrity of The Ledge in any way. Occasionally, the coating will crack, as it is designed to in order to protect the surface of the glass,” a spokesman said at the time to NBC Chicago, adding that the visitors were in never any danger.

Garibay said that staff said that it was unbreakable.

“I walked them over so they could see and they were totally shocked and asked us to step away and then proceeded to start calling staff and techs and I don’t know who else. When we pulled our phones to start recording and take pictures they asked us to leave right away,” he recalled.