Passenger describes ‘scariest flight of my life’ after Boeing 777 engine cowling of UA1175 flying from San Francisco to Hawaii comes off

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A United Airlines plane flying to Hawaii was forced to make an emergency landing after its engine began to fall apart mid-air.

After what was described as “the scariest flight of my life” by one passenger, photos and videos taken through the windows showed an exposed engine shaking in mid-air after the “engine cowling” broke away.

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The drama on board the Boeing 777-222 began after a loud bang was heard roughly 35 minutes before the flight was scheduled to land in Honolulu. The pilots immediately sent out a distress call and were forced to make an emergency landing.

A Google engineer on board the flight, Erik Haddad, who had a clear view of the exposed engine, apparently remained calm throughout the incident, uploading a series of photos to Twitter and quipping: “I don’t see anything about this in the manual.”

Erik Haddad (@erikhaddad) I don't see anything about this in the manual ✈️#ua1175 pic.twitter.com/yTECg9fxZw

Erik Haddad (@erikhaddad) that looks bad, plane and simple ✈️ #ua1175 pic.twitter.com/EKXUxDBw9q

Erik Haddad (@erikhaddad) for those fellow flight enthusiasts wanting to see more detail #ua1175 pic.twitter.com/SvADgjWgIK

Another passenger, Maria Falaschi, who uploaded a series of dramatic photos, said it was the “scariest flight of my life” but the pilots did “a great job and so did the crew”, adding that the passengers were prepared for an emergency landing by crew who “handled it well”.

A statement from United Airlines said the flight landed safely at 12.38pm local time. “United flight 1175 traveling to Honolulu from San Francisco landed safely after the pilots called for an emergency landing because of an issue with the #2 engine. Our pilots followed all necessary protocols to safely land the aircraft.

Aircraft rescue and firefighters met the plane on the tarmac, United said. “The aircraft taxied to the gate and passengers deplaned normally. United is fully cooperating with the NTSB and FAA investigation of the event.”

United said it was “fully cooperating” with investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.



United told Business Insider the plane was purchased in 1994, which makes it one of the first Boeing 777s ever sold. The 777 is the world’s largest twinjet.

Maria Falaschi (@mfalaschi) Scariest flight of my life #ua1175 pic.twitter.com/hjCvrJ9VwV