Engine covering flies off United plane midflight, forcing emergency landing

Passengers on United Airlines Flight 1175 from San Francisco to Honolulu got quite an eyeful Tuesday when an engine covering came off midflight, CBS affiliate KGMB-TV reports. The plane made an emergency landing in Honolulu after the issue was discovered.

Pilots were able to land the plane safely and there were no reports of any injuries. The sight of the exposed jet engine will be something many passengers remember for quite some time.

Passenger Erik Haddad captured video and posted it to social media.

KGMB-TV posted a write out of the audio between the pilot and air traffic control in Honolulu in the moments before the landing:

Pilot: "If you haven't already, roll the fire trucks."
Air traffic control: "They will be standing by."

United said in a statement that Flight 1175 "called for an emergency landing due to a mechanical issue." All passengers "deplaned normally at the gate," the company said.

The NTSB is sending a team of two to investigate the incident. 

In a statement, the Hawaii Transportation Department said the United flight landed safely with emergency personnel standing by as a precaution, KGMB-TV writes. The plane was taken to a hangar, the department said, and the incident didn't prompt any delays at the airport.

Another passenger who took photos from inside tweeted that it was the "scariest flight of my life":

"There was a loud bang ... and then the plane really started shaking," passenger Allison Sudiacal told KMGB-TV. "There was a loud boom and then it was like rattling and the plane was kind of shaking like boom, boom, boom."

She was traveling with her 4-month-old son, husband and his parents.

"They let us know that we had to brace for impact in case there was a rough landing. It was scary. But they did a really good job," she added.

Sudiacal's husband, Tim, called the flight "absolutely terrifying."

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• United Airlines