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'I thought we were done': Parts fall from sky in plane scare

BROOMFIELD, Colo. (AP) - David Delucia was settling back into his airplane seat and starting to relax on his way to a long-awaited vacation when a huge explosion and flash of light interrupted an in-flight announcement and put him in survival mode.

The Boeing 777-200, headed from Denver to Honolulu on Saturday with 231 passengers and 10 crew aboard, suffered a catastrophic failure in its right engine and flames erupted under the wing as the plane began to lose altitude.

As Delucia and his wife prepared for the worst, people in this Denver suburb reacted in horror as huge pieces of the engine casing and chunks of fiberglass rained down on a sports fields and on streets and lawns, just missing one home and crushing a truck. The explosion, visible from the ground, left a trail of black smoke in the sky, and tiny pieces of insulation filled the air like ash.

The plane landed safely at Denver International Airport, and no one on board or on the ground was hurt, authorities said. But both those in the air and on the ground were deeply shaken.

'œWhen it initially happened, I thought we were done. I thought we were going down,'ť said Delucia, who stuffed his wallet in his pocket so he could be easily identified if the plane did go down. 'œThe pilot did an amazing job. It was pretty unnerving.'ť

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the airplane experienced a right-engine failure shortly after takeoff.

Video posted on Twitter showed the engine fully engulfed in flames as the plane flew through the air. Freeze frames from different video taken by a passenger sitting slightly in front of the engine and posted on Twitter appeared to show a broken fan blade in the engine.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating. Authorities have not released any details about what may have caused the failure.

United said in a separate statement that most passengers on United Flight 328 were rebooked on a new flight to Hawaii, but some chose to stay in a hotel overnight instead.

The Broomfield Police Department posted photos on Twitter showing large, circular pieces of debris that appeared to be the engine cowling leaning against a house in the suburb about 16 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Denver. Police asked anyone injured on the ground to come forward.

Tyler Thal, who lives in the area, told The Associated Press that he was out for a walk with his family when he noticed a large commercial plane flying unusually low and took out his phone to film it.

'œWhile I was looking at it, I saw an explosion and then the cloud of smoke and some debris falling from it. It was just like a speck in the sky, and as I'm watching that, I'm telling my family what I just saw and then we heard the explosion,'ť he said in a phone interview. 'œThe plane just kind of continued on, and we didn't see it after that.'ť

Kirby Klements was inside with his wife when they heard a huge booming sound, he said. A few seconds later, the couple saw a massive piece of debris fly past their window and into the bed of Klements' truck, crushing the cab and pushing the vehicle into the dirt.

He estimated the circular engine cowling at 15 feet (4.5 meters) in diameter. Fine pieces of the fiberglass insulation used in the airplane engine fell from the sky 'œlike ash'ť for about 10 minutes, he said, and several large chunks of insulation landed in his backyard.

'œIf it had been 10 feet different, it would have landed right on top of the house,'ť he said in a phone interview with the AP. 'œAnd if anyone had been in the truck, they would have been dead.'ť

Based on initial photos and videos posted by passengers, aviation safety experts said the plane appeared to have suffered an uncontained and catastrophic engine failure.

Such an event is extremely rare and happens when huge spinning pieces inside the engine suffer some sort of failure and breach an armored casing around the engine that is designed to contain the damage, said John Cox, an aviation safety expert and retired airline pilot who runs an aviation safety consulting firm called Safety Operating Systems.

'œThat unbalanced disk has a lot of force in it, and it's spinning at several thousand rotations per minute ... and when you have that much centrifugal force, it has to go somewhere,'ť he said in a phone interview.

Pilots practice how to deal with such an event frequently and would have immediately shut off anything flammable in the engine, including fuel and hydraulic fluid, using a single switch, Cox said.

Former NTSB Chairman Jim Hall called the incident another example of 'œcracks in our culture in aviation safety (that) need to be addressed."

Hall, who was on the board from 1994 to 2001, has criticized the FAA over the past decade as 'œdrifting toward letting the manufacturers provide the aviation oversight that the public was paying for.'ť That goes especially for Boeing, he said.

The last fatality on a U.S. airline flight involved such an engine failure on a Southwest Airlines flight from New York to Dallas in April 2018. A passenger was killed when the engine disintegrated more than 30,000 feet above Pennsylvania and debris struck the plane, breaking the window next to her seat. She was forced halfway out the window before other passengers pulled her back inside.

In that case, the breakdown was blamed on a broken fan blade in an engine of the Boeing 737. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to step up inspections of fan blades on certain engines made by CFM International, a joint venture of General Electric and France's Safran S.A.

In 2010, a Qantas Airbus A380 suffered a frightening uncontained engine failure shortly after takeoff from Singapore. Shrapnel from the engine damaged critical systems on the plane, but pilots were able to land safely. The incident was blamed on the faulty manufacturing of a pipe in the Rolls Royce engine.

___

Flaccus reported from Portland, Oregon. Associated Press reporters David Koenig in Dallas and Frank Bajak in Boston contributed to this report.

In this photo provided by the Broomfield Police Department on Twitter, debris is scattered in the front yard of a house at near 13th and Elmwood, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Broomfield, Colo. A commercial airliner dropped debris in Colorado neighborhoods during an emergency landing Saturday. The Broomfield Police Department said on Twitter that the plane landed safely at Denver International Airport and that no injuries had been reported from the incident. (Broomfield Police Department via AP) The Associated Press
A North Metro firefighter walks past a large piece of an airplane engine in the front yard of a home on Elmwood Street near E. 13th Avenue, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Broomfield, Colo. Debris from a United Airlines plane fell onto Denver suburbs during an emergency landing Saturday after one of its engines suffered a catastrophic failure and rained pieces of the engine casing on a neighborhood where it narrowly missed a home. (Andy Cross/The Denver Post via AP) The Associated Press
A piece of debris from a commercial airplane is surrounded by police tape on a strip along Midway Boulevard in Broomfield, Colo., after the plane shed parts while making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
A man walks past airplane parts scattered on a soccer field at Broomfield Commons Park, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Broomfield, Colo. Debris from a United Airlines plane fell onto Denver suburbs during an emergency landing Saturday after one of its engines suffered a catastrophic failure and rained pieces of the engine casing on a neighborhood where it narrowly missed a home. (Andy Cross/The Denver Post via AP) The Associated Press
A North Metro firefighter walks past airplane debris on Elmwood St. near E. 13th Avenue, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Broomfield, Colo. Debris from a United Airlines plane fell onto Denver suburbs during an emergency landing Saturday after one of its engines suffered a catastrophic failure and rained pieces of the engine casing on a neighborhood where it narrowly missed a home. (Andy Cross/The Denver Post via AP) The Associated Press
In this photo provided by the Broomfield Police Department on Twitter, debris is scattered across turf field at Commons Park, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Broomfield, Colo. The police ask that the area be avoided if possible. A commercial airliner dropped debris in Colorado neighborhoods during an emergency landing Saturday.The Broomfield Police Department said on Twitter that the plane landed safely at Denver International Airport and that no injuries had been reported from the incident. (Broomfield Police Department via AP) The Associated Press
Neighbors gather on the lawn next to the home of Kirby Klements after a piece of debris from an airplane crushed the man's pickup truck parked next to his home in Broomfield, Colo., as the plane shed parts while making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
A piece of debris from a commercial airplane is marked off by police tape where it landed along Midway Boulevard in Broomfield, Colo., as the plane shed parts while making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
In this photo provided by the Broomfield Police Department on Twitter, debris is scattered across a turf field at Commons Park, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Broomfield, Colo. The police ask that the area be avoided if possible. A commercial airliner dropped debris in Colorado neighborhoods during an emergency landing Saturday.The Broomfield Police Department said on Twitter that the plane landed safely at Denver International Airport and that no injuries had been reported from the incident. (Broomfield Police Department via AP) The Associated Press
In this photo provided by the Broomfield Police Department on Twitter, a piece of debris from a plane is seen on a turf field at Commons Park, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Broomfield, Colo. The police ask that the area be avoided if possible. A commercial airliner dropped debris in Colorado neighborhoods during an emergency landing Saturday. The Broomfield Police Department said on Twitter that the plane landed safely at Denver International Airport and that no injuries had been reported from the incident. (Broomfield Police Department via AP) The Associated Press
In this photo provided by the Broomfield Police Department on Twitter, debris is scattered across the turf field at Commons Park, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Broomfield, Colo. The police ask that the area be avoided if possible. A commercial airliner dropped debris in Colorado neighborhoods during an emergency landing Saturday. The Broomfield Police Department said on Twitter that the plane landed safely at Denver International Airport and that no injuries had been reported from the incident. (Broomfield Police Department via AP) The Associated Press
A piece of an airplane engine is seen in the median along Sheridan Boulevard near E. 13th Avenue, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Broomfield, Colo. Debris from a United Airlines plane fell onto Denver suburbs during an emergency landing Saturday after one of its engines suffered a catastrophic failure and rained pieces of the engine casing on a neighborhood where it narrowly missed a home. (Andy Cross/The Denver Post via AP) The Associated Press
Neighbors gather on the lawn next to the home of Kirby Klements after a piece of debris crushed the man's pickup truck parked next to his home in Broomfield, Colo., as the plane shed parts while making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
In this photo provided by the Broomfield Police Department on Twitter, debris is scattered in the front yard of a house at near 13th and Elmwood, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Broomfield, Colo. A commercial airliner dropped debris in Colorado neighborhoods during an emergency landing Saturday. The Broomfield Police Department said on Twitter that the plane landed safely at Denver International Airport and that no injuries had been reported from the incident. (Broomfield Police Department via AP) The Associated Press
Kirby Klements talks about a piece of debris that crushed his pickup truck parked next to his home in Broomfield, Colo., as the plane shed parts while making an emergency landing at nearby Denver Internatioopnal Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
People look over debris that fell off a plane that shed parts over a neighborhood in Broomfield, Colo., Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. The plane was making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
Neighbors gather on the lawn next to the home of Kirby Klements after a piece of debris crushed the man's pickup truck parked next to his home in Broomfield, Colo., as a passenger plane shed parts while making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
A piece of debris from a passenger airplane sits on the lawn of a home in Broomfield, Colo., after the plane shed parts while making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
A piece of commercial airplane debris is surrounded by police tape where it landed along Midway Boulevard in Broomfield, Colo., as the plane shed parts while making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
A North Metro Fire Department investigator heads up Elmwood Street to view damage from debris that fell from a commercial passenger plane in Broomfield, Colo., as the plane shed parts while making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
Kirby Klements talks about a piece of debris that crushed his pickup truck parked next to his home in Broomfield, Colo., as the plane shed parts while making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
The rain gutter on the home of Kirby Klements hangs down after a piece of debris from an airplane crushed his pickup truck parked next to the home in Broomfield, Colo., as the plane shed parts while making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
Kirby Klements talks about a piece of debris that crushed his pickup truck parked next to his home in Broomfield, Colo., as the plane shed parts while making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
Kirby Klements talks about a piece of debris that crushed his pickup truck parked next to his home in Broomfield, Colo., as the plane shed parts while making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
People look over debris that fell off a plane that shed parts over a neighborhood in Broomfield, Colo., Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. The plane was making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
People look over debris that fell off a plane that shed parts over a neighborhood in Broomfield, Colo., Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. The plane was making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
Fire officials walk up Elmwood Street to see where a piece of debris from a passenger airplane crushed a pickup truck parked next to a home in Broomfield, Colo., as the plane shed parts while making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
A National Transportation Safety Board investigator exits his vehicle near a home peppered by parts from a plane as it was making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Broomfield, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
A National Transportation Safety Board investigator talks on his mobile device in the street near a home peppered by parts from a plane as it was making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Broomfield, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
A Broomfield, Colo., Police Department vehicle blocks access to the street on which a home was peppered by parts from a plane as it was making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Broomfield, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Associated Press
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