A United Airlines plane that had an engine failure on Saturday landed safely in Denver after dropping debris in several neighborhoods in Broomfield, Colorado.
United Flight 328 took off from Denver International Airport to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu at 12:49 p.m. on Saturday FlightAware.com. The plane, a Boeing 777, had engine problems and returned safely to Denver Airport around 1:30 p.m., airport spokesman Alex Renteria told USA TODAY.
Renteria said no injuries were reported, but no details of reports of debris from the outside of the plane falling from the sky, narrowly missing a house in one instance.
There were 231 passengers and 10 crew members on board.
Broomfield, Colorado, Police said on twitter This debris fell in several neighborhoods around 1 p.m. and advised people not to touch or move it so the National Transportation Safety Board can investigate.
“Denver to Honolulu flight 328 engine failed shortly after departure, returned safely to Denver and was hit by emergency services as a precaution. No injuries have been reported on board and we will provide more information as it becomes available,” said United Spokesman David Gonzalez said in a statement.
The incident on the Denver to Honolulu flight was United’s second emergency on Saturday.
On Saturday morning, a United flight from Cancun, Mexico to Houston was diverted to New Orleans after a “mechanical problem,” Gonzalez said. The Boeing 737-800 landed safely and the 107 passengers were put on another plane to Houston.
In the Colorado incident, police from Broomfield, about 25 miles north of Denver, tweeted a picture showing part of the outer cover of the aircraft’s engine. Another picture showed debris scattered across a grass field in Commons Park.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane landed safely on Saturday after a right engine failure occurred shortly after takeoff.
“The FAA is aware of reports of debris near the aircraft’s trajectory. Please contact local authorities and the airline for more information on the passengers,” the carrier said in a statement.
The NTSB said on Twitter that it has opened an investigation into the “engine incident” on the Denver to Honolulu flight. The agency said Denver-based NTSB investigators are responding.
Tyler Thal, who lives in the area, told The Associated Press that he was walking his family when he noticed a large airliner was flying abnormally low and took out his cell phone to film it.
“As I was looking at it, I saw an explosion and then the cloud of smoke and some debris falling from it. It was like a speck in the sky and as I watch it, I tell my family what I just saw and then we heard the explosion, ”he said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “The plane just kept going and we didn’t see it after that.”
In a video posted on Twitter, a passenger captured the jet’s apparently burning engine.
Featuring: Dawn Gilbertson, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
