United Airlines said that a flight from San Francisco to Boston was forced to change course after the plane suffered damage to one of its wings.
NEW YORK – A cross-country United Airlines flight was cut short and the plane landed in Denver after one of its wings was damaged.
A passenger on the flight from San Francisco to Boston said Monday that he had just put in his headphones and was starting to sleep when he felt the plane shake.
“Suddenly I heard this violent shaking that I had never heard before,” Kevin Clark said in an interview Tuesday.
One of the pilots walked down the main cabin aisle, then returned to the cockpit and announced that the plane had minor damage to its right wing and the flight would be diverted to Denver, Clark said.
Clark opened his window covering and took a video of the damage that was later broadcast on Boston 25 News. The 67-year-old, a ski race announcer from Maine, said he was relieved that the pilot thought the plane was good enough to fly, but he began to have doubts when the plane hit turbulence.
Clark began checking the ward repeatedly, until he decided he couldn't look anymore.
“I was just going to pray that we get to the other side of the turmoil,” he said.
United said the Boeing 757-200 carrying 165 passengers landed in Denver “to address an issue with the chip” on one of its wings. Slats are moving panels located on the leading or leading edge of the wing and are used during take-off and landing. Chicago-based United did not mention the cause of the damage that led to parts of the chip being torn off.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it was investigating the incident.
The plane landed safely in Denver, and passengers were put on a different plane and arrived later in the day in Boston, according to the airline.
This incident comes at a time of increasing passenger anxiety after a door panel exploded last month on an Alaska Airlines plane while flying over Oregon. Bolts designed to keep the panel from moving were missing from the Boeing 737 MAX 9, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report.
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