Passenger sees "wing coming apart" on United flight from San Francisco to Boston; flight forced to land in Denver
BOSTON - A United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Boston was diverted to Denver on Monday because of an issue with the plane's wing - and a worried passenger on board captured the apparent problem on video.
"Just about to land in Denver with the wing coming apart on the plane," Kevin Clarke says in a video shared with CBS News. "Can't wait for this flight to be over."
There were 165 passengers on board the Boeing 757-200, which landed safely in Denver. Clarke said the wing issue became apparent after takeoff from San Francisco.
"United flight 354 diverted to Denver yesterday afternoon to address an issue with the slat on the wing of the aircraft," a spokesperson for United told WBZ-TV in a statement. "The flight landed safely and we arranged for another aircraft to take our customers to Boston."
Another passenger shared a photo of the wing on Reddit mid-flight.
"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," user octopus_hug wrote. "How panicked should I be? Do I need to tell a flight crew member?
The user said another passenger alerted flight attendants to the problem.
"I'll be very relieved once we land," they said.
The passengers were put on a different plane and landed in Boston early Tuesday morning.
Boeing has been under scrutiny since a door panel on a different kind of aircraft, a 737 Max 9, blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. Earlier this month, the head of the FAA pledged to use more people to monitor aircraft manufacturing and hold Boeing accountable for any safety rule violations.