A Boeing 737 had to quickly brake when the plane’s engine looked like it was starting to fall apart … and the whole ordeal was caught on video.
The Southwest Airlines flight, heading from Denver to Houston, took off Sunday morning … when some of the passengers noticed a piece of metal ripped off the side of the plane and flapped around as the plane began its takeoff.
Scary moments for passengers on a Southwest flight from Denver to Houston when the engine cover ripped off during flight , forcing the plane to return to Denver Sunday morning. pic.twitter.com/BBpCBXpTsl
— Sam Sweeney (@SweeneyABC) April 7, 2024
@SweeneyABC
Check out the video … the engine cowling covering the sides of the giant turbine flies up, seemingly only held together by a few strands of stray metal — at first, not slowing down the jet one bit.
However, once the piece breaks away and flies off, the pilots slowly rolled the plane to a halt with the turbine almost completely exposed.
Southwest Airlines Flight 3695 pic.twitter.com/M5fsyAQ2fZ
— Bvrtender (@bvrtender) April 7, 2024
@bvrtender
Southwest tells TMZ … the passengers onboard got off the plane safely and boarded another aircraft — landing in Houston about three hours after their original estimated arrival time. The airline says it’s looking into the mechanical failure.
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This is just the latest in a series of mechanical headaches Boeing’s facing … remember, just last month a United Airlines Boeing 777 lost a tire right as it took off, smashing several cars below.
And, of course, the door of a different plane blew out during one flight, forcing the 737 Max 9 to make an emergency landing in Portland … so, this latest issue seems more of the recent same for the plane-producing giant.
All’s well that ends well, we guess … though some people might be rethinking upcoming travel.
