Hancock?
Birds can fly that high. There’s a species of goose that migrates over Mount Everest at more than 26,000 feet.
The tragic outcome is being discussed here.
Tonight’s news said it was caused by some sort of structural defect - it collapsed by itself. Which, to me, is even weirder than a bird strike at 18k feet.
Not really - some of the outer skin of an airplane is for streamlining purposes and not structural support. Such portions are not particularly strong - there is no need, and additional strength would only mean additional weight which is something you want to avoid in an aircraft. A nose cone does need to be strong enough to withstand the air pressure generated by forward travel, but that’s about it. In such a case, a structural defect, or damage that isn’t immediately apparent/visible, may result in the collapse of such a non-structural part, and it really shouldn’t impact safety, just cosmetics and, to a minor degree, efficiency of flight.