This is DEI in action.
A Southwest Airlines flight to Houston returned to Denver on Sunday morning after an engine cover tore away during takeoff.
Passengers were terrified after the engine cover blew off.
“People in the exit row across from me started yelling at the flight attendants and showing them the damage. We turned around and made a full-speed landing. The pilots did a great job on the landing,” a passenger said to KTRK.
The Boeing 737-800 plane was towed back to the gate. The FAA is investigating the incident.
KTRK reported:
A Southwest Airlines flight headed to Houston had to make an emergency landing at the Denver International Airport after the engine cover seemingly tore away during takeoff on Sunday, according to officials.
In a video sent to ABC News by a passenger on flight 3695, the engine’s cowling could be seen peeling back, flying off and striking the aircraft’s wing flap as the plane began to come off the ground.
One passenger described the ordeal as “frightening.”
According to the Federal Aviation Association, the Boeing 737-800 aircraft was towed back to the gate after landing around 8:15 a.m. Sunday.
WATCH:
BREAKING: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 flight to Houston returns to Denver after engine cover tears away during takeoff pic.twitter.com/Z0uEjleor1
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 7, 2024
Additional footage:
BREAKING: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 engine rips apart during takeoff.
A Southwest Airlines flight bound for Houston immediately returned to Denver.
Maybe Boeing can spend less time on DEI and focus more on safety of their aircrafts and passengers. pic.twitter.com/8iUp9WccHI
— I Meme Therefore I Am (@ImMeme0) April 7, 2024
Audio of the pilot calling for an emergency landing:
JUST IN: Audio released after Southwest Airlines Flight 3695 was forced to make an emergency landing after its engine cowling detached during takeoff.
The pilot can be heard calling for an emergency landing.
The Boeing 737-800s engine cowling detached and “struck the wing… pic.twitter.com/gQLg41CLY9
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 7, 2024
Sunday’s problem with the engine cover is at least the 9th time a Boeing aircraft was involved in an incident this year.
A few weeks ago, a 25-year-old United Airlines Boeing 737 landed at an Airport in Oregon on Friday with a missing exterior panel.
JUST IN: United Airlines Boeing 737-800 lands safely in Medford, Oregon with an under-fuselage panel missing. United says the issue was first discovered when parked at the gate. pic.twitter.com/ZOcUOQckyq
— Pete Muntean (@petemuntean) March 15, 2024
Last month a United Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 suffered gear failure and crashed off the runway at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
The Boeing’s gear failure came one day after a United Airlines Boeing 777 plane was forced to make an emergency landing after it lost a tire during takeoff.
The United plane was taking off from San Francisco when one of the six tires detached from the aircraft and damaged several cars in the parking lot. The flight was diverted to LAX where it safely landed.
In January a large piece of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX blew out in mid-air.
The plane door flew off amid Boeing’s focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) hiring practices over a passenger’s safety.
