In a surprising incident, an emergency slide detached from a United Airlines plane and landed in a residential backyard near Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Monday afternoon.
Homeowner Patrick Devitt made the startling discovery after hearing a loud "boom" while his son and father-in-law were having lunch inside the house. Devitt found the emergency slide in his backyard and subsequently alerted the authorities.
Although no one sustained injuries as a result of the incident, structural damages were reported. Media reported the slide caused damage to the house's roof, downspout, and a kitchen window screen upon its impact.
"I'm stunned a little bit," Devitt said of the unexpected crash-landing. "I'm just glad that everybody is safe and okay. Just, just seeing that in my backyard, like wow. This really happened. It fell off of an airplane and landed in our backyard."
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) responded promptly to the incident, arriving at the scene within 30 minutes. After investigating the matter, it was determined the missing emergency slide belonged to a United Airlines Boeing 767 that had recently completed a safe flight from Switzerland to O'Hare Airport.
A United Airlines representatives visited the homeowner's residence and has since retrieved the slide. Charles Hobart, an airline spokesperson, told media that the liner "immediately contacted the FAA and are working with our team to better understand the circumstances around this matter."
An investigation to determine the cause of the slide detachment remains ongoing.
Although rare, this is not the first occurrence of an emergency slide detaching from a Boeing 767. Similar incidents were reported in 2016 near Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport and in 2019 near Boston's Logan Airport.