The fear of their life! Passengers on United Airlines flight UA328 will have an unexpected memory to tell of their planned trip to Honolulu, Hawaii, Saturday, February 20.
Shortly after takeoff from Denver (Colorado) airport, the right engine of their plane suddenly ignited. The aircraft, heading for the State of Hawaii in the heart of the Pacific Ocean, managed to turn around and land safely in Denver, and the incident did not cause any injuries, nor on the ground or on board the plane, the authorities said.
The plane, a Boeing 777-220 which carried 241 people including ten crew members, “Turned back to Denver International Airport, where he landed safely after suffering a failure of his right engine just after takeoff”the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) explained on Twitter.
In a recording obtained by the LiveATC website, which broadcasts air traffic communications, the pilot is heard making a distress call, requesting emergency clearance to return to Denver. “We had a reactor failure, we have to turn around. Mayday, mayday “he said in a panicked voice, citing the expression used to signal distress.
More video coming in from United flight. Can you even imagine. # 9news https://t.co/8FdeFLxret
“I can honestly say I thought I would die”
Images taken inside the plane and posted on social media show the plane’s right engine engulfed in flames. “I can honestly say that I thought I would die, because we started to lose altitude right after the explosion”, testified a passenger, David Delucia, to the newspaper The Denver Post.
The incident also caused more or less large debris to fall along the route taken by the aircraft when it turned around for Denver. A piece of the plane in the shape of a circle, with a diameter equivalent to a front door, was stuck in the middle of a garden in Broomfield, a suburb of Denver (Colorado).
Kirby Clements, owner of the garden where this massive debris from the plane landed, told CNN of an experience “Somewhat upsetting”. “It landed directly on the roof of my truck before falling beside it”He said, adding that another equally large piece of debris had caused a hole more than five feet in diameter in a neighbor’s roof.
The FAA explained to be “Aware of reports of fallen debris along the route taken by the aircraft”.
“If you find any debris PLEASE don’t touch it, don’t move it. The @NTSB [l’autorité fédérale de la sécurité des transports] wants all debris to remain in place for the purposes of the investigation ”Broomfield Police tweeted.
For its part, United Airlines said in a statement that “The majority of customers who were on flight UA328 are currently en route to Honolulu on another flight”, and specified that passengers who did not wish to travel immediately after the incident had been accommodated at the hotel.
