A United Airlines Boeing 757-200 recently lost a piece of high-lift flap in mid-flight, forcing the crew to make an emergency landing.
A user on the Reddit network documented his flight live on Monday, sharing with Internet users photos showing the damage suffered by the flap, which is used to increase or decrease the lift of the aircraft’s wing.
In the photos, we can see that the moving part is falling apart and that a large piece of the shutter is missing.
The United Airlines flight departed from San Francisco and was scheduled to fly to Boston, but ultimately landed in Denver due to the breakdown.
A passenger who took video showing the damage, Kevin Clarke, told ABC News the plane was shaken by a strong vibration for a few seconds during the flight. Then, a pilot passed down the aisle, looking through the windows, before returning to the cabin.
“A few minutes later he spoke over the loudspeaker system and announced that we had suffered damage to the underwing flap,” Mr Clarke recalled.
An aviation expert, Col. Steve Ganyard, tempered the seriousness of the arm on ABC’s airwaves.
“If the damage was to the front (of the wing), it could have affected the maneuverability of the plane. Fortunately, in this case it was at the rear, so it didn’t really have an impact.
The 165 passengers were finally able to travel to Boston, aboard another aircraft and several hours late.
