China Eastern Boeing 777-300, headed for Shanghai, experienced a “mechanical failure” shortly after take-off from New York on August 13, 3019. According to media reports, the aircraft lost part of a wing while in-flight.
According to the aviation tracking website “FlightAware”, China Eastern flight MU588 was scheduled to depart at 04:25 pm (EDT) from New York John F. Kennedy International (JFK) to Shanghai Pudong International (PVG), but took off two hours and ten minutes later, at 6:35 pm (EDT).
Passenger reports indicate a metal part from the left-wing of the airliner came off shortly after take-off. A playback of the flight on the flight tracking website shows the plane circled many times in the air to burn fuel. The aircraft was diverted and after 2 hours and 20 minutes landed safely back at JFK.
Flight path of the Boeing 777 on FlightAware
One of the passengers on the airplane shared his experience via social media: “Everything seemed to be fine. About an hour after taking off, a girl suddenly said, the plane was flying south. When I looked at the map on the front of the screen, I […] found that the plane was [flying] in a circle”.