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Eyewitnesses in the air and on the ground said they watched in horror and shock as parts of a jet engine explode and shatter shortly after takeoff from Denver, raining debris on homes.
Although no injuries or deaths were reported in Saturday’s incident in Broomfield, Colo., Residents and passengers told ABC News they were still shaken.
“It was more like, ‘Hey, is everything going to be okay?’ It’s not normal, ”Brett Guy, who was a passenger on United Flight 328, told ABC News.“ I didn’t know what to think. ”
The Boeing 777-200’s right engine failed shortly after takeoff around 1 p.m. Saturday for a flight from Denver to Honolulu, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Parts of the engine began to peel off as it was engulfed in flames and debris fell into the air.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday evening that based on its initial investigation, the separate engine intake and cowl and two fan blades were fractured.
Part of a blade was embedded in the containment ring and some of the fan blades showed damage to the tips and leading edges, according to the NTSB.
Guy said he and other passengers heard the boom sound and saw the engine come loose from their windows.
“The plane was shaking quite strongly,” he recalls. “It didn’t stop, and no one really knew it. And then you looked out the window to the side.”
Tyler Thal, a resident of Broomfield, told ABC News he was walking with his family this afternoon when the engine blew up. Thal said he and his family got scared after hearing the explosion and seeing the flash of light.
He became increasingly concerned with the passengers as he watched the jet continue to fly with the engine on fire.
“It is unlike anything we have ever seen. So it was fear for my daughter, my wife and me [was] just worried knowing that this plane is full of people, ”Thal said.
Thal said he hoped the plane could safely be successful with the remaining engine.
Guy also had a similar thought while in his seat on the plane after recalling a moment from the 1986 Tom Cruise movie “Top Gun”.
“There’s the part where it’s like, Engine 1 is off. And then it’s like, ‘I’m shutting it down,'” he recalls. “And for some reason, in my head I was like, ‘We’re okay with an engine, but it’s kinda messed up.'”
The plane returned to Denver International Airport, and all 231 passengers and 10 crew members were released without any major injuries, according to the FAA.
Engine debris, however, caused enormous damage to homes and streets below. Huge parts of the plane, including the metal coverings, fell onto rooftops, sidewalks and trees.
Kirby Klements told ABC News he was at home with his wife when they heard the boom from the explosion. They ran to their front window and saw a giant, circular piece of the engine roll right in front of them.
“The engine cover ended up just right here, hanging off my tree branch,” he said. “It had come down and landed square in the bed of my truck at the corner of my garage. It fell and landed and ended up right there with my wife and I sitting right inside here saying, ‘Qu ‘is it?'”
Klements said the damage was very frightening.
“If anyone had been there who had been seriously injured or killed,” he said. “I mean … the whole roof of the truck is on the side of the cab of the truck.”
Klements said he and his wife had heard of the plane landing safely and the debris was still on his property this afternoon.
“So it was very lucky that no one on the ground was injured by the several large pieces that hit the neighborhood,” he said. “And thank goodness no one on the plane was injured or anything.”
Debris remains strewn throughout the city as the FAA and NTSB investigate the damage and investigate the incident.
FAA administrator Steve Dickson issued an emergency airworthiness directive on Sunday that would require immediate or intensified inspections of Boeing 777 planes equipped with certain Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines.
“This will likely mean that some planes will be taken out of service,” Dickson said in a statement.
Shortly after the FAA issued its directive, United announced that it would temporarily remove 24 Boeing 777s equipped with these engines from its schedule.
“As of yesterday, we have been in contact with the NTSB and FAA regulators and will continue to work closely with them to determine the additional steps needed to ensure these aircraft meet our rigorous safety standards and can be returned to service. . airline said in a statement. “As we trade planes, we expect only a small number of customers to be inconvenienced.”
A person familiar with the situation told ABC News that this particular engine has a unique design. The blade itself is hollow titanium and the source likened it to a chocolate Easter bunny.
Tom Haueter, ABC News consultant and former director of the Aviation Safety Bureau’s NTSB, called the motor’s fan blades “critical” to the investigation.
“What the NTSB wants to look at is if there is any evidence of a pre-existing problem with this motor, with this fan blade,” he told ABC News.
Roger K. Lee of ABC News contributed to this report.
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