A United Airlines flight en route from San Francisco to Honolulu had to declare a mid-air emergency yesterday afternoon after one of the engine covers, or cowlings as they’re otherwise known, sheared off mid-flight.
The drama unfolded on flight UA1175 which took from San Francisco International Airport at just after 9.30am on January 13th. According to passengers aboard the flight, the cowling tore off the right engine with just 40 minutes left of the five-hour flight.
The flight was operated by one of United’s Boeing 777-200 aircraft. According to data from Flight Radar, the aircraft with registration N780UA took its first flight in July 1996 – making it approximately 21 years old.
Dramatic footage from inside the plane showed passengers cowering in the brace position as the aircraft made its final approach into Honolulu. Flight attendants can be heard to scream “Brace, Brace, Brace!” on several videos posted to social media before passengers erupt into applause as the plane safely lands.
The social media hero of the flight, however, has to be Erik Haddad (@erikhaddad) who managed to snap a picture of the damaged engine whilst holding up an opened safety card. His Twitter post simply reads: “I don’t see anything about this in the manual”.
“Brace!” Tense moments in the air as passengers brace for impact after United Airlines say an engine cover came off during a flight from California to Hawaii. No injuries were reported. https://t.co/ITw1R6J6Xg pic.twitter.com/AOeySEEqg9
— ABC News (@ABC) February 14, 2018
I don’t see anything about this in the manual ✈️#ua1175 pic.twitter.com/yTECg9fxZw
— Erik Haddad (@erikhaddad) February 13, 2018
that looks bad, plane and simple ✈️ #ua1175 pic.twitter.com/EKXUxDBw9q
— Erik Haddad (@erikhaddad) February 13, 2018
for those fellow flight enthusiasts wanting to see more detail #ua1175 pic.twitter.com/SvADgjWgIK
— Erik Haddad (@erikhaddad) February 14, 2018
A spokesperson for the airline said in a statement: “Our pilots followed all necessary protocols to safely land the aircraft.”
“The aircraft taxied to the gate and passengers deplaned normally.”
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Maria Falaschi, another passenger on the plane described the incident as the “scariest flight of my life.”
She described hearing “a big bang” and then the “plane started to shake violently.”
Other Tweet’s from Erik Haddad show engineers inspecting the engine after the plane had safely landed in Honolulu.
