United passenger's video captures wing damage before flight's emergency landing
A United Airlines passenger spoke out Wednesday after he caught video footage of a Boeing 737's wing "coming apart" shortly before the flight was diverted to Denver over the incident.
Kevin Clarke captured the video showing damage on the wing of the aircraft that ultimately prompted the Boston-bound flight to make an emergency landing in Denver to assess the issue. He said, shortly after takeoff, he experienced "the most violent, shuddering and shaking" before falling back to sleep.
Clarke joined "Fox & Friends" to recount the harrowing experience as travelers endure looming concerns stemming from the safety of the aircraft.
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"A pilot came walking down the aisle and went behind me," Clarke told Lawrence Jones on Wednesday.
"I looked out the window, went back to the cockpit and came on the PA system and said, 'We're going to be diverted to Denver. There's some minor damage to… front of the wing.' So I immediately threw my window open to look at the wing and the trailing edge of the strut was totally… destroyed like you see in a picture."
"At that point I'm like, well, that's not a little damage, but,… the United pilot's competent enough to get us to Denver," he continued. "I guess we're on our way."
United said Tuesday that the Boeing 757-200 with 165 passengers aboard landed in Denver on Monday to "address an issue with the slat" on one of its wings. The plane landed safely. Passengers were put on a different plane and arrived later in the day in Boston.
Slats are movable panels on the front or leading edge of the wing and are used during takeoffs and landings.
Chicago-based United did not say what caused the damage to the plane's wing. Boston 25 News broadcast a passenger’s video showing the panel partially shredded.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that it is investigating the incident.
"The pilots said it won't affect the fly-ability of the plane," Clarke said. "I don't think [it] will change my travel plans."
The incident came at a time of heightened passenger jitters after last month’s blowout of a door panel on an Alaska Airlines jetliner flying over Oregon. A preliminary investigation attributed the blowout to missing bolts that helped secure a panel to the frame of a Boeing 737 Max 9.
"It's been crazy. I've been… getting news outlets from all over the country, all over the world, wanting to speak to me," Clarke said.
"It's been a full day of travel. We didn't get off the plane to Boston till 1:00 and… just glad to be on the ground at home."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.