BOSTON – A United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Boston was diverted to Denver on Monday because of a problem with the plane's wing – and a concerned passenger on board captured the apparent problem on video.
“I'm about to land in Denver when the wing of the plane falls apart,” Kevin Clarke said in a video shared by CBS News. “I can’t wait for this flight to be over.”
A United flight to Boston had to be diverted to Denver due to a wing problem. Kevin Clarke
There were 165 passengers on board the Boeing 757-200, which landed safely in Denver. Clarke said the wing problem became apparent after takeoff from San Francisco.
“United Flight 354 was diverted to Denver yesterday afternoon to resolve a slat issue on the aircraft's wing,” a United spokesperson 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 mid-flight photo of the wing on Reddit.
“I was sitting right on the wing and the noise after reaching altitude was much louder than normal. I opened the window and saw the sash looked like this,” wrote user octopus_hug. “How panicked should I be? Do I need to tell a flight crew member?”
A passenger took a photo of apparent damage to the wing of a plane that was forced to divert to Denver. Kelly Beagan
The user said another passenger alerted flight attendants to the problem.
“I will be very relieved when we land,” they said.
The passengers were transferred to another plane and landed in Boston early Tuesday morning.
Boeing has been under scrutiny since a door panel on another type of aircraft, a 737 Max 9, exploded during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. Earlier this month, the head of the FAA vowed to deploy more people to monitor aircraft production and hold Boeing accountable for any safety violations.
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