Flat rainfall in the Denver area neighborhood before United’s flight lands safely Denver newspaper

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

Airport authorities say United Airlines Flight 328, which departed at 12:15 p.m., was heading to Honolulu when the incident occurred.

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

David Delucia, a passenger on the plane, recalled a loud cabin explosion, a bright flash of lightning and 20 minutes of terror before it touched.

RELATED:

Video of the plane’s engine explosion and wreckage

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

Delucia said he and his wife moved their wallets (which contained driver’s licenses) into their pockets to make them easier to identify if the plane crashed.






Remains of the emergency landing plane

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




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

On the ground, parts of the twin-engine Boeing 777-200 aircraft, including parts of a jet engine fairing, 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 home.

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

“Moments later we went outside and saw this big round thing in our garden and we were totally in shock.”

The debris only damaged his truck and a section of siding and gutters. But they knew it could have been a lot worse.

“If it had been 10 feet different, I would have landed on top of 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 Gazette 9News news partner that the plane’s right engine failed shortly after takeoff. It was unclear what caused the engine failure or why the problem caused parts of the jet casing to separate from the aircraft.

In the past, this has been an indication of a turbine failure, which can throw pieces of the jet engine through the housing at high speed.

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

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

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

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

“If you find remains, please don’t touch or move them,” he tweeted to Broomfield police. “The file @NTSB he wants all the waste to be kept in place for research. “

Contact Tom Roeder: 636-0240

Twitter: @xroederx

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