Passenger captures shocking video of ‘wing coming apart’ on United flight making emergency landing

US News

By Yaron Steinbuch

A passenger on a cross-country United Airlines flight captured shocking video of the “wing coming apart” while the plane was making an emergency landing.

Kevin Clarke was among the 165 passengers aboard the Boeing 757-200 on the flight Monday from San Francisco to Boston when the right wing appeared to start shredding.

He caught video of the horrifying incident as the plane made an emergency landing nearly 2,000 miles from its planned destination.

“Just about to land in Denver with the wing coming apart on the plane,” Clarke is heard saying moments before landing in the clip posted by his wife.

“It came apart when we took off in San Francisco, and we’re just about on the ground. Can’t wait for this flight to be over,” he says. “They’ve got another plane waiting for us. Touchdown any second, and the nightmare will be over.”

Clarke told WCVB that he felt “this incredible loud vibration” just as the wheels went up.

“It was like, ‘What was that?’” he told the outlet.

The passenger said the pilot walked into the cabin about 45 minutes into the flight to view the damage.

“He goes behind me and I was kind of sleepy, so I wasn’t paying much attention at that point, but then he goes back to the cockpit and he comes on the PA and says, ‘We’ve discovered we have some damage on one of the front flaps and we’re going to divert to Denver and put you all in a different plane,’” Clarke told NBC Boston.

Another passenger posted a photo of the wing on Reddit.

“Sitting right on the wing and the noise after reaching altitude was much louder than normal. I opened the window to see the wing looking like this,” the user wrote.

“How panicked should I be? Do I need to tell a flight crew member?” he added. “I’ll be very relieved once we land.”

The plane landed safely in Denver at 5:15 p.m. Monday. The passengers were placed on another flight, which arrived at Boston Logan International Airport at about 2:45 a.m.

There were no injuries during the incident, according to United.

“United Flight 354 diverted to Denver yesterday afternoon to address an issue with the slat on the wing of the aircraft,” the airline said in a statement to NBC Boston.

“The flight landed safely and we arranged for another aircraft to take our customers to Boston,” it added.

It was unclear what caused the damage, which remains under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Slats are extendable devices on the leading edge of the wings on some fixed-wing aircraft that increase lift during the takeoff and landing phases of flight.

“What we’re seeing there is the trailing edge of that slat where the damage was done,” Col. Steve Ganyard, a contributor to ABC News, told WCVB.

“If the damage had been more to the front part, it could have affected the controllability of the airplane,” Gaynard told the outlet. “Luckily, in this case, it was in the rear and it really didn’t have much effect on how the airplane handled.

“Any damage to the leading edge of a wing is bad because that wing no longer functions the way it was designed to,” he added.

The Boeing 757 originally went into service in 1994 with Continental Airlines, according to online records.

Boeing has been under scrutiny since a door plug on an Alaska Airlines-owned 737 MAX 9 carrying 177 people blew off in the skies near Portland, Oregon, during a flight to California on Jan. 5, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing.

The head of the FAA has pledged to use more people to monitor aircraft manufacturing and hold the embattled company accountable for any safety rule violations.

A Boeing supplier later notified the company that it had discovered incorrectly drilled holes on the fuselages of about 50 undelivered 737 MAX planes.

The Post has reached out to United for additional comment.