Feds investigating why Boeing plane rained debris on Denver suburb

Engine was manufactured by East Hartford-based Pratt &Whitney

The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating the causes of an engine failure that occurred on board a United Airlines flight shortly after it took off from Denver International Airport on Saturday.

The aircraft, a Boeing 777200, appeared to scatter dozens of pieces of debris across a residential area roughly a halfmile wide, badly damaging at least one home and one vehicle, local authorities said. No injuries have been reported on the ground or among the flight’s 231 passengers and 10 crew members.

Residents of Broomfield, a suburb of Denver, reported hearing a loud boom overhead and a video posted to social media appeared to show the plane flying with its engine on fire. Authorities have not shared any details on possible causes of the failure.

The incident comes amid Boeing’s effort to restore public confidence in its planes. In December, Boeing’s 737 Max jets flew their first commercial flights for the first time since two crashes of the planes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people.

The Max crashes eroded the flying public’s trust in Boeing, one of two major companies that dominate commercial airplane production. After the crashes, Boeing halted production of its flagship jet, fired its chief executive and agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion to resolve a Justice Department criminal charge that it conspired to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration during a review of the 737 Max.

The Boeing 777-200 is a larger jet that has been in use since the 1990s. According to Boeing data, the jets have experienced less than one major accident per 1 million departures — one of the lowest accident rates of any major commercial jetliner. The plane is not equipped with MCAS, the software that investigators believe malfunctioned during the 737 Max crashes.

In an emailed statement, Boeing spokesman Bradley Akubuiro said the company is pleased that the airplane returned safely to Denver. “Boeing technical advisers are supporting the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board with its investigation,” he said.

The plane’s engine was manufactured by Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of Raytheon headquartered in East Hartford, Conn., a spokesman for the NTSB confirmed. Pratt & Whitney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The NTSB typically coordinates accident investigations with the help of the plane manufacturer, local authorities, the airline and any parts manufacturers that may have information relevant to a safety incident. The agency began retrieving scattered debris and collecting it in an airplane hangar at Denver International Airport over the weekend.

United Airlines, which operated the flight originally scheduled to land in Honolulu on Saturday, said a majority of the passengers were put on a new plane that landed safety in Hawaii that night. The company said it is working with federal investigators.

In Broomfield, local authorities fielded hundreds of calls from residents who found pieces of debris, said Rachel Welte, the public information officer for Broomfield Police Department. One plane part fell through the roof of a home, and another damaged a truck, she said.

Debris was discovered all over Commons Park, a large recreational area with soccer fields, she said. “Considering how large the debris field was, it’s absolutely remarkable” no one was injured, Welte said.