Passengers and crew felt a ‘bomb jolt’ when the engine began to peel apart (Picture: Denver7/Lisa C)
A Boeing 737 flight was forced to turn back after passengers looked out their windows to see the engine being torn open like a tin can lid.
The Southwest Airlines flight left Denver International Airport in Colorado at around 7.45am only to return 30 minutes later.
The pilot had good reason to. Social media footage showed pieces of the removable metal covering the engine of the Houston-bound flight peeling off.
Witness Lisa told ABC affiliate Denver7 that the some 150 passengers and crew of Flight 3695 experienced what felt like a ‘bomb jolt’ when the engine cover blew off.
She said: ‘I was sitting in was right directly in front of that engine and we all felt a kind of a bomb jolt and I looked out the window because I love window seats and there was, we all lit up our call buttons because they didn’t feel it or see it from the pilot’s viewpoint.’
After taking off, the plane flew over Denver before looping over Strasburg and landing back at the Denver airport, according to the aircraft tracking platform Flightradar24.
As this was happening, according to passenger Cooper Glass, the people in the exit row of the craft were ‘yelling to the flight attendants to show them the damage’.
‘We turned around and made a full-speed landing. Pilots did a great job on the landing,’ he added.
The Southwest flight was then towed to the gate, KDVR reported, with customers being transferred to another aircraft to make it to Houston’s William P Hobby Airport.
According to the Denver International Airport website, Flight 3695 was due to take off at 7.40am but was delayed until 10:54am.
Southwest Airlines said the incident was down to a ‘mechanical issue’.
A spokesperson said: ‘Southwest Flight 3695 returned to Denver International Airport this morning and landed safely after experiencing a mechanical issue.
‘Our customers will arrive at Houston Hobby on another aircraft, approximately three hours behind schedule.
‘We apologise for the inconvenience of their delay, but place our highest priority on ultimate safety for our customers and employees.
‘Our maintenance teams are reviewing the aircraft.”
Federal aviation officials are investigating the incident.
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