Plane debris rains in the Denver neighborhood before United flight lands safely Denver newspaper

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An engine failure aboard a commercial flight departing from Denver International Airport rained debris in a Broomfield neighborhood before the plane and its 231 passengers and 10 crew members landed safely on Saturday afternoon.

Airport officials say United Airlines Flight 328, which departed at 12:15 p.m., was headed for Honolulu when the incident occurred.

Broomfield police received a call about debris falling from the sky at 1:09 p.m., officials said. The plane returned safely to the airport at 1:30.

David Delucia, a passenger on the plane, remembered a loud, noisy explosion, a bright explosion and 20 minutes of terror before it was touched.

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Video from the plane’s engine explosion and debris

“The plane started shaking violently and we lost altitude and we started to go down,” Delucia told the Associated Press.

Delucia said he and his wife moved their wallets – which contained driver’s licenses – in their pockets so that they could be more easily identified if the plane crashed.






Emergency landing plane debris

A piece of debris from a commercial plane is marked by a police gang, where it landed along Midway Boulevard in Broomfield, Colorado, as the plane tossed parts as it made an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport, Saturday, February 20, 2021.




“I thought I was done,” said Delucia, who was sitting directly across the aisle from the blown engine. – I thought we were going down.

On the ground, parts of the Boeing 777-200 twin-engine aircraft, including parts of a jet hood, landed near homes in northwest Denver. At least one house was hit directly by debris.

Maryann Klements and her husband, Kirby, were sitting in their living room enjoying a quiet Saturday afternoon when a “supersonic” boom shook their entire house.

“I can’t even try to describe how loud he was, but I looked at my husband and said, ‘What the hell was that?’ ”Said Maryann Klements.

“A few moments later I went outside and saw this round in our yard and went into complete shock.”

The wreckage only damaged their truck and a section of siding and gutters. But they knew it could have been much worse.

“If it had been 10 feet different, it would have landed right above the house,” Kirby Klements told the Associated Press.

“Things could have ended very differently, but I’m very grateful that everyone seems to be safe,” Maryann said.

The Federal Aviation Administration told the news partner 9News that the aircraft’s right engine failed shortly after takeoff. It was not clear what caused the engine to malfunction or why the problem caused parts of the jet housing to separate from the aircraft.

In the past, this has been an indication of a turbine failure, which can launch parts of the jet engine by rocketing through the housing at high speed.

Neighbors also reported explosion sounds, which would be consistent with an uncontrolled turbine failure.

Tracking on www.flightaware.com shows that the plane took off and circled the ground before landing.

A video posted on Twitter by ground witnesses showed an apparent explosion before the wreckage fell.

Authorities said the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate the engine failure.

“If you find debris, please do not touch or move it,” Broomfield police wrote on Twitter. ” @NTSB he wants all the remains to remain in place for investigation. “

Contact Tom Roeder: 636-0240

Twitter: @xroederx

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