Authorities said the incident did not cause any injuries on the ground or on the plane.
Passengers on a United Airlines flight UA328 to Honolulu, Hawaii, feared for their lives shortly after takeoff from Denver Airport in Colo. The right engine suddenly caught fire.
The Boeing 777-220 “made a U-turn to Denver International Airport and landed safely as soon as it took off due to a malfunction of its proper engine,” the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on its page on Twitter. (FAA).
With 231 passengers and 10 crew on board, pictures taken inside the plane posted on social media show the plane’s right engine on fire.
As the incident returned to Denver, more or less large debris fell into the path taken by the plane. In the middle of a garden in Broomfield, a suburb of Denver (Colorado), part of the plane is trapped in the shape of a circle with a diameter equal to the front door.
“We know information about the debris that fell on the runway,” the FAA said. “If you find any rubbish please do not touch it and do not move it. TNTSB (National Traffic Safety Board) wants all rubbish to be investigated,” Broomfield Police tweeted.