Denver suburb littered with debris after United Airlines engine failure
Residents of a Denver neighborhood had a lucky escape after a United Airlines plane suffered a catastrophic engine failure.
The United Boeing 777-200 quickly returned to Denver Airport and landed safely. There were no injuries reported.
The engine failure caused debris to rain down across a wide area near Denver.
Photos and videos posted online showed debris strewn across the city with part of an engine cowling missing a home by just a couple of meters.
An investigation is being conducted by the FAA and NTSB.
"I’m honestly shocked, looking at this debris field," said Rachel Welte, a police spokeswoman in Broomfield, Colorado.
Photo: Broomfield PD
"While I was looking at it, I saw an explosion and then the cloud of smoke and some debris falling from it," local resident Tyler Thal said.
There was ‘violent shaking’ as it ‘lost altitude and we started going down’ recalled passenger David Delucia.
Pilots issued a Mayday call about 30 minutes after takeoff.
By this time it had reached an altitude of more than 13,000 feet.
The Hawaii-bound flight was carrying 231 passengers and 10 crew members and was met by emergency services after landing.
Written by Ray Montgomery, US Editor
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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