(Observer Network News) On February 20, local time, a United Airlines Boeing 2777 passenger plane experienced an engine failure shortly after taking off from Denver International Airport in the United States and was forced to return.
According to US media such as CNN, when the incident occurred, local residents heard a huge explosion, and then the fuselage fragments rained down on the football field and courtyard in the suburbs of Denver, and Almost hitting a house.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the plane landed safely and caused no casualties on board or on the ground. CNN aviation and transportation analysts described the incident as an uncontrollable engine failure, which literally means "an engine exploded." The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
Personnel on board captured footage of the engine fire
A spokesperson for Denver International Airport told CNN that a United Airlines Boeing aircraft returned to the airport at around 1:30 pm that day after an engine failure. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the news in a statement, saying it was "aware of reports of debris near the aircraft's flight path."
United Airlines told CNN that the flight was United Airlines UA328, model Boeing 777, and was originally planned to fly to Honolulu. There were 241 people on board the flight, including 10 crew members. After the plane returned, all passengers got off the plane safely.
United Airlines said in a statement that they are in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board and local law enforcement to investigate the cause of the accident.
Fragments narrowly missed hitting a home, TwitterScreenshot
The scene of the incidentColoradoThe Broomfield Police Department said on Twitter that they had received reports of an engine failure on a plane flying over a suburb of Denver The failure, "at approximately 1:08 p.m., scattered debris from the aircraft over several communities," and the aircraft returned about 20 minutes later.
The city is located approximately 40 kilometers north of Denver and approximately 48 kilometers east of Denver International Airport. Pictures and videos from the scene showed large amounts of debris strewn across the front yards of several homes and a football pitch at a local park.
Broomfield Police Officer Rachel Welte said at a press conference on the 20th that the police received calls from residents. According to residents, they first heard a huge explosion, "and then they started seeing a plane falling from the sky."
Wilt said: "We probably have hundreds of people here and we haven't had any reports of injuries, which is absolutely shocking."
Local resident Kieran Cain told CNN he was at the scene of the incident They were playing with children at a local primary school when suddenly a plane flew over and they heard a loud noise.
"We saw the plane flying over and then heard a huge explosion. We looked up and saw black smoke streaking across the sky, and then debris started raining down... There were huge metal fragments everywhere."
Kane said he and his children took shelter under a roof as the wreckage fell. To his surprise, the plane "continued flying almost undisturbed."
AP video screenshot
CNN aviation and transportation analyst and former U.S. Federal Department of Transportation Inspector General Mary Schiavo described the incident as an uncontrollable engine failure, which literally means "the engine exploded." Another aviation analyst agreed, saying the accident likely occurred during takeoff.
Peter Goelz, former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board , told CNN that the agency will find the wreckage, analyze it and "absolutely" be able to find out what happened.
This article is an exclusive manuscript of Observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.
