United States airline regulators have once again launched an investigation into a Boeing plane after an engine cowling fell off during takeoff and struck the wing flap.
The incident happened on a Southwest Airlines flight departing from Denver International Airport on Sunday at around 8:15 a.m., CNN reported.
Footage of the scary scene has gone viral online, showing the engine cover crumple as the plane accelerated to take off.
Flight 3695 took off and reached 10,000 feet before returning safely to the ground about 25 minutes after taking off. After landing, it was towed to the gate.
Onboard the aircraft was 135 passengers and six crew members headed to Houston, Texas. The incident did not result in any injuries.
Southwest shared that it is having maintenance teams review the aircraft to discover why the engine cover fell off. The plane was a Boeing 737-800 model, which the recently investigated and troubled 737 Max series was supposed to replace, The Guardian reported.
Now, Boeing finds itself in even hotter water as it is already facing federal investigations, the resignation of its chief executive, Dave Calhoun, along with other top executives, and demands from airlines to produce aircraft safely and on time.
The issues for Boeing began after a door plug panel came off on a new Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 jet at about 16,000 feet on Jan. 5.
This resulted in the Federal Aviation Administration grounding the Max 9 for several weeks, stopped Boing from increasing its production rates, and ordered the aircraft maker to come up with a plan to fix its “systemic quality control issues” in 90 days.
As for the Southwest plan, it entered service in June 2015, according to FAA records. The airline has not shared when the plane’s engine was last looked at for maintenance.