TERRIFYING footage captured the moment a Boeing 737’s engine cover ripped off mid-air.
The Houston-bound flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Denver on Sunday after the engine cowling struck the wing flap.
US regulators have now ordered an investigation into the malfunction onboard the Southwest Airlines flight.
Just minutes after takeoff, passengers watched in horror as the engine cover tore off.
The plane, which was carrying 135 passengers and six crew members, reached 10,300ft before having to make a U-turn after only 25 minutes.
Videos of the incident showed the engine cowling of the nine-year-old plane flapping viciously in the wind as pieces flew off.
read more on boeing
The pilot can be hearing telling panicked passengers that they would be making an emergency landing.
One passenger, Cooper Glass, wrote on X: “@Southwest Air Flight 3695. Thanks for the heart attack this morning!”
The Boeing 737-800 returned safely to Denver International at 8.15am (local time) after what Southwest called a “mechanical issue”.
Boeing declined to comment, but instead referred questions to Southwest for information about their airplane and fleet operations.
Most read in The Sun
The incident is the latest safety scare to hit the embattled aircraft manufacturer which has been under immense scrutiny since a huge mid-air door blow out in January.
The fuselage panel of an Alaskan Airlines Boeing 737 ripped off at 16,000ft, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon.
It led to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounding 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes, leading to the cancellation of hundreds of flights.
The National Transportation Safety Board reported that four key bolts appeared not to be installed when it left the Boeing factory.
Last Friday, Boeing paid $160million (£126m) to Alaska Airlines to make up for their losses.
Just last month, Boeing announced its chairman and chief executive were both leaving their roles, while the plane manufacturer vowed to “fix” the crisis.
Also in March, another Southwest Boeing 737 flight was aborted due to engine issues. Two other 737’s reported engine issues, The Telegraph reports.
The aircraft giant’s stock price has plummeted by 27 per cent since the start of the year.
Boeing has desperately been attempting to repair their international reputation after similar Boeing 737 crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.
It saw the popular plane model grounded globally for more than 18 months.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Meanwhile, in March horror footage also emerged of a wheel dropping off a packed Boeing 777 during takeoff at an airport in San Francisco.
And last week, a pilot was forced to make a return to Frankfurt after poo flowed out into the cabin of a Boeing 777 due to a defective toilet.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/feed/
Iona Cleave
