The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating a rare incident in which an emergency slide fell from a landing United Airlines jet.
According to witnesses the emergency slide landed in a residential area in Chicago on July 17, 2023, and local police were called to investigate.
The FAA confirmed that the agency first became aware of the incident after workers at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) found that the evacuation slide was missing from a jet that had arrived from Zurich Airport (ZRH).
“Maintenance workers at Chicago O’Hare International Airport discovered an emergency slide was missing from a United Airlines Boeing 767 (UAL Flight 12) that had just landed safely from Switzerland,” FAA told NBC.
The Boeing 767, registered N666UA, landed in Chicago at 12:29pm local time after a nine-hour journey from the European capital.
According to United Airlines there were 155 passengers and 10 crew members aboard the 24-year-old jet.
In footage captured on a security camera the emergency slide can just be seen falling to the ground shortly after an aircraft passes by in the distance.
“We immediately contacted the FAA and are working with our team to better understand the circumstances around this matter,” United said.
The evacuation slide is designed to inflate in an emergency to help passengers evacuate the aircraft.