There may have been fear and prayers on United Airlines Flight 1175, from San Francisco to Honolulu on Tuesday, Feb. 13. But to the crew and passengers' credit, there certainly wasn't panic.
The Boeing 777 jet from United Airlines was carrying more than 370 people across the Pacific Ocean, when the engine cover came off -- with 40 minutes of flight time still to go. Passengers report that they heard a loud bang, and that the plane then started to shake. Watch the video from Mariah Amerine, showing passengers calmly following the instructions of the flight crew as the plane landed in Hawaii: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if4xSkz5qE4[/embed]
Passengers were instructed to prepare for an emergency landing, by ducking with their heads down and holding their ankles. As heard on the video, they chanted, "Brace, brace, brace," repeatedly, before erupting into applause and cheers when the plane landed safely roughly 40 minutes after the terrifying ordeal began.
United Airlines later issued a statement:
"United flight 1175 traveling to Honolulu from San Francisco landed safely after the pilots called for an emergency landing because of an issue with the #2 engine. ... Our pilots followed all necessary protocols to safely land the aircraft. The aircraft taxied to the gate and passengers deplaned normally. United is fully cooperating with the NTSB and FAA investigation of the event."Kudos to everyone involved -- from the flight crew handling the remainder of the flight and landing with grace under pressure, to the passengers remaining orderly and calm! You are all truly a testament to the resiliency of the human spirit! What do you think? Would you have responded this calmly during an emergency situation like this? What would be going through your mind? Tell us in the comments below!
