According to the New York Post, a United Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing on Monday when passengers observed the Boeing 757-200’s wing seemingly falling apart.
The incident occurred during a flight from San Francisco to Boston, prompting a diversion after passenger Kevin Clarke spotted the damage.
Video footage captured by Clarke and shared by his wife on social media depicted the concerning state of the aircraft’s wing.
“Just about to land in Denver with the wing coming apart on the plane,” Clarke stated in the video moments before the plane safety touched the ground.
“It came apart when we took off in San Francisco, and we’re just about on the ground. Can’t wait for this flight to be over,” he continued. “They’ve got another plane waiting for us to continue to Boston. Touchdown any second, and the nightmare will be over.”
The plane landed safely in Denver at 5:15 p.m. local time on Monday, WBTS reported. No injuries were reported.
Clarke told the news outlet that he heard an “incredibly loud vibration” as the plane took off.
According to the passenger, approximately 45 minutes into the flight, the pilot left the cabin and showed up near his seat to view the wing’s damage.
“He goes behind me and I was kind of sleepy, so I wasn’t paying much attention at that point, but then he goes back to the cockpit and he comes on the PA and says, ‘We’ve discovered we have some damage on one of the front flaps and we’re going to divert to Denver and put you all in a different plane,'” Clarke told WBTS.
Another passenger on the same flight posted photos of the wing’s deterioration on Reddit.
“Sitting right on the wing and the noise after reaching altitude was much louder than normal. I opened the window to see the wing looking like this. How panicked should I be? Do I need to tell a flight crew member?” the passenger wrote.
The incident is currently under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration, and the cause of the damage remains unknown.
A spokesperson for United Airlines told WBTS, “United flight 354 diverted to Denver yesterday afternoon to address an issue with the slat on the wing of the aircraft.”
“The flight landed safely and we arranged for another aircraft to take our customers to Boston,” the spokesperson added.
Colonel Steve Ganyard, a contributor for WCVB, informed the news outlet that the damage was found on the “trailing edge” of the wing’s slat, which is a movable component that enhances lift during takeoff and landing.
“If the damage had been more to the front part, it could have affected the controllability of the airplane,” he explained. “Luckily, in this case it was in the rear and it really didn’t have much effect on how the airplane handled.”
“Any damage to the leading edge of a wing is bad because that wing no longer functions the way it was designed to,” Gaynard noted.
“When you see this kind of break, it could be a fatigue,” he continued. “That airplane is fairly old, and perhaps the part just gave way because of age or because of use, or it could have been some sort of maintenance problem where it wasn’t properly rigged and it was rubbing against the wing itself.”
Online records indicate that the Boeing 757 aircraft has been in service for 29 years, entering operation with Continental Airlines in 1994.
Recently, Boeing has faced criticism following an incident where an Alaska Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing in January when an exit door panel blew out during the flight.
A preliminary report by the United States National Transportation Safety Board suggested that a Boeing 737-9 MAX airplane may have left the factory without essential bolts, as reported by Blaze News.
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