A United Airlines flight experienced an engine failure after takeoff from Denver International Airport on Saturday, but landed safely after debris dropped over northern Colorado, officers said.
The jet to Hawaii, according to reports, was a Boeing 777 with 10 crew and 231 passengers on board.
Frightening video captured from the plane showed the damaged engine on fire.
“When it initially happened, I thought we were done. I thought we were going down,” passenger David Delucia, who was traveling with his wife, told The Associated Press.
After hearing an explosion and seeing a flash of light, Delucia said he quickly stuffed his wallet in his pocket, thinking it would help rescuers identify his body more easily if he didn’t survive, he told the AP.
Much of the debris ended up in Commons Park and the Northmoor and Red Leaf neighborhoods of Broomfield, about 20 miles north of downtown Denver.
Miraculously, no injuries were reported on board the aircraft or on the ground.
The damaged engine caused the plane to lose altitude, with a trail of black smoke visible to people on the ground, the AP reported.
A large round piece of the plane fell next to a house in Broomfield, Colorado.
(Broomfield Police Department)
(Broomfield Police Department)
Debris also fell near a dog park and onto a lawn in a Broomfield park.
(Broomfield Police Department)
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The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident and has asked Coloradans not to touch debris if they find pieces of the plane near them.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told MSNBC he will work with the NTSB to investigate the engine failure to “understand all the lessons learned in a way that maximizes the sense of security every time we board.”
“America’s reputation for excellent air safety is not something that just happened,” Buttigieg told MSNBC. “It happened because of rigorous regulation of understanding when an incident occurs, why it happens, and ensuring that we have the highest standards in this country.”
Denver’s KUSA-TV has purchased a video of passengers cheering as the plane lands safely at Denver International Airport.
Colorado resident Clare Armstrong told Fox News she was at Broomfield Commons Dog Park when she heard a loud thump in the air and saw debris falling into the area.
She and others in the dog park found shelter.
Broomfield Police said they are “extremely grateful” that no one has been injured, given the number of people who are normally in the park on a weekend day.
It was currently unclear what caused the aircraft’s No. 2 engine to malfunction. A video taken from the ground shows a large black plume of smoke emerging from the plane.
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Jon Ostrower, editor-in-chief of Air Currents, explained on Twitter that “everything that happened to this engine had tremendous energy given the near-total disintegration of the nacelle.”
United Airlines said all passengers and crew were being transported back to the Denver terminal and that they would be getting another flight to Honolulu in the next few hours.