https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2021/02/21/it-just-blew-fire-kauai-woman-watched-engine-failed-united-flight/ Skip to content * Tributes * HI NOW * Jobs * Join Our Team * Check Out 'n' Take Out * Advertise with Us * About Us * LIVE * News * COVID-19 * Vaccinating Hawaii * Weather * Sunrise * Podcasts * Sports * HI NOW * ETC [ ] [ ] News Watch Live Local Headlines National News This Is Now Podcasts HNN Newsletter Sign-Up Special Reports Traffic Submit Your Photos! Latest Newscasts Coronavirus Pandemic Latest Headlines Town Hall Discussions Vaccination Information Economic Impacts Weather HNN Hurricane Center Latest Weather Updates Surf Report Tsunami Center Sunrise Sunrise Open House Healthier Hawaii Sunrise On The Road What's Trending Howard's Business Report Smart Money Monday Hawaiian Word Of The Day Hawaii Stands Together Sports Warrior Nation Tokyo Summer Olympics Polynesian Bowl 2020 ScoringLive K5 Talk Story Pop-Up Makeke Kupuna Power Keiki Hula Class of 2020 Culture Week Na Hoku Awards Merrie Monarch Cheap Eats Pacific Pulse K5 Mele HI-Five Athlete of the Week Teen Talk Check Out 'n' Take Out HI Now TV Guide TV Listings KGMB This TV KHNL Antenna TV Terry's Take Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren Circle - Country Music & Lifestyle Gray DC Bureau Investigate TV About Us Anchors & Reporters News Department Sales Department Calendar Community Jobs EEO Public File Reports * News 'It just blew fire': Kauai woman watched as an engine fell apart on United flight 328 Honolulu-bound United Airlines flight turns around after engine failure, scattering debris over Colorado homes By Dillon Ancheta | February 20, 2021 at 4:32 PM HST - Updated February 20 at 6:03 PM HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - A Hawaii woman experienced first hand what she called a frightening, yet well-handled, engine failure onboard the Honolulu-bound United Airlines flight 328 Saturday. Barbara Underwood of Kauai was flying back to the islands on the Boeing 777 when the plane's right-wing engine blew out and scattered metal debris across Colorado suburbs. Underwood, a frequent flyer, was traveling with her husband Ed. She was sitting on the right side of the plane and said at first, she thought nothing seemed out of the ordinary as the plane gained altitude. "I looked out the window and I saw the engine," she said. "I noticed it was just shaking a lot. And I thought, well, it's the turbulence." [Read more: Debris from HNL-bound flight falls over Colorado homes leading to emergency landing] "And then as I was looking at it, it just blew fire. And that ring thing around it just flew off and then it was just smoking. And I was just like, 'Oh my gosh, I don't know what's going to happen next,'" she said. The damaged engine dropped parts all over suburbs in Colorado before the plane safely landed back at the airport. The damaged engine dropped parts all over suburbs in Colorado before the plane safely landed back at the airport. (Source: Barbara Underwood) The O-ring she described landed in the yard of a Broomfield residence, just feet away from causing significant damage to a home and vehicles. As the pilots quickly called in a mayday to air traffic control, Underwood said half of the passengers on the plane weren't even aware something was wrong. "I was on the window on the right side, and nobody saw it except the people that were on the window and nobody screamed. And like I looked over and people were still reading their books. They kind of didn't know what was going on," she said. She described heavy vibrations that eventually set in and rattled the plane. "I turned my texting back on and said my final goodbyes to our children. Now we didn't know what was going to happen. It was pretty terrifying," she said. Shortly after, the pilots announced they were turning the plane around to land back at Denver International Airport. Despite the fear of the overall experience, Underwood noted the overwhelming sense of calm that most passengers and crew had. "The pilot came on and he was super calm and said we're just going to do a normal landing. Not any emergency. He really calmed everybody," Underwood said. "It was, it was pretty scary, but we all held it together. Everybody on the window, nobody screamed -- there was no screaming or none of that." Underwood and other passengers were rebooked on other flights to Hawaii in the hours that followed. She commended United for their handling of the entire incident. The NTSB has since launched an investigation into the engine failure. [Read a related report: Debris falls from plane during emergency landing near Denver] Copyright 2021 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved. [stateradar_web_full] 79 weather icon Currently in Honolulu, HI Full Forecast Sponsored By Author Dillon Ancheta Dillon Ancheta Digital Content Producer, Social Media Reporter Dillon Ancheta, a Kauai native, has been with Hawaii News Now since December 2016. RECENT CONTENT Heavy rain soaks Kauai, saturating grounds ahead of more possible wet weather Heavy rain soaks Kauai, saturating grounds ahead of more possible wet weather Flooding wasn't the worst residents have seen in recent years, but still cause for concern. By Jolanie Martinez Debris from HNL-bound flight falls over Colorado homes leading to emergency landing Debris from HNL-bound flight falls over Colorado homes leading to emergency landing Exactly 241 people were onboard the plane and no major injuries reported. By Dillon Ancheta Forecast: Trade wind conditions prevail, more rain due next week By Guy Hagi Published 2h at 3:44 PM Red Cross aiding 2 families impacted by a fire in Waianae Red Cross aiding 2 families impacted by a fire in Waianae By HNN Staff Published 3h at 2:47 PM Blangiardi asks state to lift some team sports restrictions with COVID cases declining Blangiardi asks state to lift some team sports restrictions with COVID cases declining By Allyson Blair Published 5h at 12:47 PM Hawaii reports 59 new COVID-19 cases; no new fatalities Hawaii reports 59 new COVID-19 cases; no new fatalities By HNN Staff Published 5h at 12:31 PM 420 Waiakamilo Road, Suite 205 Honolulu, HI 96817 Main (808) 847-3246 News (808) 847-1112 * Contact Us * KHNL FCC Public File * KHNLpublicfile@hawaiinewsnow.com (808) 847-3246 * FCC Applications * KHNL EEO Report * KGMB FCC Public File * KGMBpublicfile@hawaiinewsnow.com (808) 847-3246 * KGMB EEO Report * KFVE FCC Public File * KFVEpublicfile@hawaiinewsnow.com (808) 847-3246 * KFVE EEO REPORT * KSIX FCC Public File * KSIXpublicfile@hawaiinewsnow.com (808) 847-3246 * KSIX EEO Report * KOGG FCC Public File * KOGGpublicfile@hawaiinewsnow.com (808) 847-3246 * KOGG EEO Report * Closed Captioning * KHNL/KGMB Careers * Privacy Policy * Terms of Service * Contact Us * KHNL FCC Public File * KHNLpublicfile@hawaiinewsnow.com (808) 847-3246 * FCC Applications * KHNL EEO Report * KGMB FCC Public File * KGMBpublicfile@hawaiinewsnow.com (808) 847-3246 * KGMB EEO Report * KFVE FCC Public File * KFVEpublicfile@hawaiinewsnow.com (808) 847-3246 * KFVE EEO REPORT * KSIX FCC Public File * KSIXpublicfile@hawaiinewsnow.com (808) 847-3246 * KSIX EEO Report * KOGG FCC Public File * KOGGpublicfile@hawaiinewsnow.com (808) 847-3246 * KOGG EEO Report * Closed Captioning * KHNL/KGMB Careers * Privacy Policy * Terms of Service A Gray Media Group, Inc. 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