United Flight #328 B777-200 lands safely after engine failure that dropped debris over metro Denver
Screenshot of a video from onboard the B777 aircraft after the engine failure, showing flames and debris flying out of the engine.
Image: Chad Schnell via Storyful
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On February 20, 2021, a United Airlines Boeing 777-200, operating as flight #328, with service from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Daniel K. Inouye (Honolulu) International Airport (HNL) suffered a major failure of its number two (right) engine shortly after takeoff. The flight quickly turned around for an emergency landing after a mayday call and safely returned to Denver International Airport about 20 minutes later.
The incident on the Hawaii-bound flight took place around 1:08 PM Mountain Standard Time (MST) (8:08 PM UTC), about 5 minutes after takeoff, roughly 20 miles west of DEN. According to flight tracker data, the aircraft was climbing through an elevation of around 12,000 to 13,000 feet when the explosion occurred, which shed the aircraft of numerous engine parts over the Denver suburb of Broomfield, CO.
Social media quickly lit up with images of the fallen debris, including the engine’s inlet cowl, which landed in the front yard of a home, and cowling fragments falling on some athletic fields. A video from onboard the aircraft during the aftermath of the engine failure shows flames coming from the engine and additional debris continuing to shed from the engine. Currently, there are no reports of any injuries on the ground or onboard the aircraft.
Flight tracker data from Flightradar24.com, showing the approximate moment and location United Airlines flight #328 suffered an engine failure over Broomfield, Colorado. The Honolulu-bound Boeing 777 subsequently made a left turn for a safe return to Denver International Airport (DEN).
Image: Flightradar24.com
The aircraft involved
The Boeing 777-200 aircraft involved, registration number N772UA, utilizes Pratt & Whitney’s PW4000 series turbofan engines, and started its day at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD), making a quick hop to Denver, before embarking on the Honolulu-bound flight. According to airfleets.net, the aircraft had its first flight in November 1994 and was originally delivered new to United in September 1995. N772UA is one of the oldest Boeing 777 aircraft around, being just the 5th ever 777 aircraft produced. To date, 26 years later, there have been over 1,600 Boeing 777s produced by Boeing.
N772UA, a Boeing 777-200, and the particular aircraft involved in today’s incident, taking off from LAX in June 2012.
Image: Flickr/InSapphoWeTrust (CC BY-SA 2.0)
NTSB Investigation
The NTSB announced just before 3:30pm MST, just two hours after the incident, that it has opened an investigation into the event. Broomfield Police is asking anyone finding debris to not touch or move any piece and report it to their dispatch at 303.438.6400 as soon as possible.
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