A passenger on a flight from San Francisco to Honolulu has described her journey as the “scariest flight of my life” after the plane’s engine broke apart mid-flight.
The United Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Hawaii. It landed safely and no one was injured.
Footage of the flight was featured on Twitter:
VIDEO
United #UA1175 engine lost parts while in flight enroute Honolulu from San Francisco. Passenger @erikhaddad tells me it ‘occurred 36 minutes to landing. seats 24K and 24L had a great view of the debris coming off’pic.twitter.com/XhurnrnqYv— Tom Podolec (@TomPodolec) February 13, 2018
The first sign of this major malfunction was a ‘loud boom’ just prior to the plane shaking and rattling. Passengers were informed that they had to “brace for impact in case there was a rough landing”. This all occurred 36 minutes from landing.
“Scariest flight of my life,” wrote passenger Maria Falaschi.
“It was scary. But they did a really good job,” Allison Sudiacal told Hawaiian TV channel HNN.
According to a United Airlines’ statement:
“United flight 1175 traveling to Honolulu from San Francisco landed safely after the pilots called for an emergency landing because of a loss of the engine cowling (the covering of the engine). Our pilots followed all necessary protocols to safely land the aircraft. The aircraft taxied to the gate and passengers deplaned normally.”
While the footage is quite harrowing, it’s somewhat comforting to know that the pros in the pilot chair still managed to get everyone on the ground to safety.
Read more at www.eglobaltravelmedia.com.au
If you had witnessed this mishap, would you feel safe flying again?
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