When a plane is forced to change course, official statements often rely on dry terms such as “technical issue” or “precautionary measure.” But for the passengers on board, the reality looks and feels entirely different.
Last weekend, a United Airlines flight traveling from Rome to Newark, New Jersey, was forced to divert and land at Shannon Airport in Ireland. Now, a combination of reports from aviation sites and new passenger accounts is revealing what happened in those moments — and how palpable the sense of fear and danger was inside the cabin.
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Flight attendants initially tried to calm passengers, but later began walking through the plane, looking out the windows at the engine
(Photo: Abdul N Quraishi - Abs / Shutterstock)
It all began Saturday, July 11, about three hours after takeoff from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport. As the 24-year-old Boeing 767-400 was making its way over the Atlantic Ocean toward Newark Airport, a problem developed in the right engine.
According to reports by The Aviation Herald and the Irish newspaper The Clare Herald, the flight crew reported vibrations in the right engine and an unusual odor in the cabin to air traffic controllers, and requested permission to divert to Shannon Airport. The right engine continued operating, but its power was reduced to idle, and the plane began descending toward Ireland.
Inside the cabin, meanwhile, uncertainty was high. According to interviews published by the American magazine People, some passengers reacted with tears and prayers. A passenger named Zach, who was on the flight with his fiancée, said he suddenly heard a loud bang from the right side of the plane, after which the aircraft began shaking violently.
“It wasn’t routine turbulence,” he told People. “It was a strong and continuous shaking that you could feel and hear throughout the cabin.”
'There was a chilling feeling'
According to Zach, flight attendants initially tried to calm passengers, but later began walking through the aisles and looking out the windows toward the engine. At one point, he said, passengers were asked to open their window shades so crew members could see outside more clearly.
Zach said the atmosphere in the cabin quickly shifted from confusion to real fear. Some passengers cried, he said, while others prayed.
“There was a chilling feeling,” he said. “I thought I might have to send my family one last message.”
Another passenger, Sam, told People that his wife also heard a bang, and that the flight crew later told passengers it was aware of concerns about the noise and smell, but tried to reassure them and said everything was under control.
Passengers noticed that the flight path was diverted
After the right engine’s power was reduced to idle, the shaking subsided and the plane became quieter. Zach said passengers noticed on their personal screens that the flight path had changed, and only about 10 minutes later did an official announcement come about the diversion to Shannon.
Ahead of landing, the flight crew announced that the plane would make an overweight landing. Fire and rescue crews at the airport were called in advance, and after the plane landed safely at 3:57 p.m., they followed it down the runway. The aircraft cleared the runway on its own and stopped briefly on a taxiway, where emergency crews conducted a visual inspection of the engine. The landing gear also was checked to make sure it had not overheated because of the overweight landing.
Zach said passengers remained on the plane for about 90 minutes before they were allowed to disembark. As he exited the aircraft, he said he noticed a missing section in the right engine, which he described as “a hole the size of one or two bowling balls.” That claim has not been independently verified.
United Airlines told People that Flight 509, which was carrying 215 passengers and 11 crew members, landed safely in Shannon “to address an issue with one of the engines.” The airline said it provided passengers with hotel accommodations, compensation and alternative flights. The continuation of the flight to Newark was canceled.