What did the panicked pilot say when the plane's engine casing tore apart in the air?

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 flight WN 3695 carrying 141 people reached an altitude of 3,140m but encountered an extremely dangerous incident when the engine cover (rectifier) was torn and hit the aircraft's elevator. The aircraft's rectifier is the protective cover of the aircraft's engine, which helps accelerate and smooth the air flow, allowing the engine to cool better and protect the engine's control components.

The plane immediately returned to Denver airport about 25 minutes after taking off at 8:15 a.m. on April 7 en route to Houston, Texas.

Vỏ động cơ bị bung ra, tung bay trong gió khi máy bay đang ở trên cao — The engine cover came off and flew in the wind while the plane was in the air.

According to the New York Post , cockpit audio recorded the "crazy" pilot on a Southwest Airlines flight and asked to "return immediately" to Denver airport and declare an emergency after the engine casing was torn off.

"We don't know the nature of the emergency but it appears that some passengers and flight attendants heard a loud banging noise on the wing," the pilot of the Boeing 737-800 bound for Houston said in a recording obtained by LiveATC.net.

Seconds later, the pilot told air traffic controllers, "Please declare an emergency for Southwest 3695 and we'd like to return immediately. It looks like a piece of the engine casing is hanging off."

Horrifying video posted on social media shows the shell flapping in the wind in full view of passengers.

The pilot then informed air traffic control that he was planning a flaps-up landing - a procedure in which the gear is usually lowered to provide additional lift at a slower speed, which is maintained in some emergencies.

The US Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed that the plane's engine casing separated and struck one of the elevator blades.

Tình trạng khi máy bay tiếp đất — Condition when the plane lands

Asked for more information about the damage, the pilot said: "The lift flap on the inside of the section between the engine and the fuselage was torn off during take-off. We didn't actually see it from the cockpit - that's just what the crew in the back told us. The engines look fine but they're structurally damaged."

The pilot then requested a change of landing strip due to the aircraft's "flaps and heavy weight", which still had about five hours of fuel.

The flight landed safely a short time later and was met by emergency services. No one was injured in the horrific incident.

A Southwest representative told the New York Post that the incident was due to a “mechanical issue” on the plane, which was manufactured in 2017.

Southwest là một trong những hãng hàng không lớn nhất nước Mỹ — Southwest is one of the largest airlines in the United States.

"Southwest Flight 3695 returned to Denver International Airport and landed safely after experiencing a mechanical issue. Our customers will be arriving at Houston Hobby on a different aircraft, approximately three hours later than scheduled," a spokesperson for the airline said.

Giant Boeing is struggling with a series of safety issues and CEO Dave Calhoun has announced he will step down at the end of the year.

Last month, the Justice Department announced it had opened a criminal investigation into the incident involving a Boeing window that exploded mid-air on an Alaska Airlines plane. Boeing and Alaska Airlines are locked in a $1 billion safety lawsuit.

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