Terrifying video shows jet engine falling apart mid-flight on its way from San Francisco to Honolulu
Flight UA1175 ultimately landed safely, with one passenger calling it the ‘scariest flight of my life’
By Rob Price and Benjamin Zhang
Passengers on a United flight from San Francisco to Honolulu, Hawaii, were shaken on Tuesday when one of the plane’s engines began to fall apart mid-flight.
Photos and videos posted on social media show the parts peeling off the Boeing 777-222 aircraft’s engine in mid-air, with its inner workings becoming steadily more exposed. “Scariest flight of my life,” one passenger tweeted.
Flight UA1175 sent out a distress alert on its approach to Hawaii, and ultimately landed safely at 12.38 p.m. local time.
In a statement to Business Insider, the airline said:
“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.”
It is not immediately clear what caused the problem and United Airlines was unable to confirm whether the engine beyond the cowling had been damaged during the incident.