</s>A United Airlines flight landed safely Tuesday in Honolulu after an engine cover came off during its flight from California, the airline said.

"Our pilots followed all necessary protocols to safely land the aircraft," United said in a statement, adding that all passengers departed the Boeing 777 normally at the gate.

The airliner landed as emergency responders waited nearby, said Hawaii Department of Transportation spokesman Tim Sakahara.

Flight 1175 was traveling to Honolulu from San Francisco.

Images posted on social media show an engine with the exterior cover missing as the plane approaches Honolulu.

Emergency crews can be seen waiting as the plane lands. One photo shows workers at the airport inspecting the damaged engine.

An emergency was declared due to a vibration in the right engine, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said in an email.

Associated Press writer Paul Elias in San Francisco contributed to this report.</s>A United Airlines flight en route from San Francisco to Honolulu had a difficult landing process when bits of its engine began falling off.

United flight #UA1175 was approximately 36 minutes from landing on the Hawaiian island when parts of its engine began falling off.

'That looks bad, plane and simple,' tweeted Google UX Engineer, Erik Haddad.

Haddad shared photos and videos from abroad the plane.

'I don't see anything about this in the manual,' he added, jokingly showing an open safety manual and pictures of the engine.

The plane landed safely in Honolulu and Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting immediately rushed to the scene.

Video show scraps of metal and other pieces of the engine flapping in the wind.

In a statement, United Airlines detailed that the covering of the engine was the piece that fell off.

'United flight 1175 traveling to Honolulu from San Francisco landed safely after the pilots called for an emergency landing because of a loss of the engine cowling (the covering of the engine),' the airline said in a statement to DailyMail.com

'Our pilots followed all necessary protocols to safely land the aircraft. The aircraft taxied to the gate and passengers deplaned normally.'</s>HONOLULU—A United Airlines flight landed safely Tuesday in Honolulu after an engine cover came off during its flight from California, the airline said.

“Our pilots followed all necessary protocols to safely land the aircraft,” United said in a statement, adding that all passengers departed the Boeing 777 normally at the gate.

The airliner landed as emergency responders waited nearby, said Hawaii Department of Transportation spokesman Tim Sakahara.

Flight 1175 was travelling to Honolulu from San Francisco.

Images posted on social media show an engine with the exterior cover missing as the plane approaches Honolulu. Video shows the engine shaking back and forth with pieces of the broken flapping in the wind.</s>A United Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing after its engine failed en route to the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Boeing 777 aircraft was flying to the Pacific island from the San Francisco International Airport in California when the incident happened. Dramatic footage captured by passenger Erik Haddad shows parts of the engine exposed while the plane continues flying over the ocean.

"United flight 1175 traveling to Honolulu from San Francisco called for an emergency landing due to a mechanical issue. The flight landed safely and all passengers deplaned normally at the gate," the airline said in a statement to KTIV Island News.

The Hawaii Department of Transport (HDT) tweeted that emergency services personnel had been standing by as a precaution after the flight reported a mechanical issue. “The plane is in the hangar. There is no impact on airport operations or runways,” the HDT said.

Another passenger, Maria Falaschi, posted pictures to Twitter, summing up her fears with the caption: “Scariest flight of my life.”</s>HONOLULU (AP) - Officials say a United Airlines flight has landed safely in Honolulu after engine parts came off during its flight from California.

Hawaii Department of Transportation spokesman Tim Sakahara says the airliner landed safely Tuesday as emergency responders waited nearby.

He says one of the engines sustained damage during the flight, but he could not provide further details.

United spokeswoman Natalie Noonan says flight 1175 traveling to Honolulu from San Francisco made an emergency landing due to a mechanical issue.

Noonan says the plane landed safely and passengers deplaned normally at the gate. No other information was provided.</s>HONOLULU (AP) - The Latest on the United Airlines flight that made an emergency landing after losing an engine cover while flying from California to Hawaii (all times local):

United Airlines says a flight landed safely in Honolulu after an engine cover came off during its flight from California.

In a statement Tuesday, United said its pilots followed all necessary protocols to land safely after the cover was lost.

United spokeswoman Natalie Noonan said Flight 1175 was traveling to Honolulu from San Francisco.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said in an email that the plane declared an emergency due to a vibration in the right engine.

Officials say a United Airlines flight has landed safely in Honolulu after engine parts came off during its flight from California.

Hawaii Department of Transportation spokesman Tim Sakahara says the airliner landed safely Tuesday as emergency responders waited nearby.

He says one of the engines sustained damage during the flight, but he could not provide further details.

United spokeswoman Natalie Noonan says flight 1175 traveling to Honolulu from San Francisco made an emergency landing due to a mechanical issue.

Noonan says the plane landed safely and passengers deplaned normally at the gate. No other information was provided.</s>HONOLULU — A United Airlines flight landed safely Tuesday in Honolulu after an engine cover came off during its flight from San Francisco, the airline said.

“Our pilots followed all necessary protocols to safely land the aircraft,” United said in a statement, adding that all passengers departed the Boeing 777 normally at the gate.

The airliner landed as emergency responders waited nearby, said Hawaii Department of Transportation spokesman Tim Sakahara.

Flight 1175 was traveling to Honolulu from San Francisco.

Images posted on social media show an engine with the exterior cover missing as the plane approaches Honolulu. Video shows the engine shaking back and forth with pieces of the cover flapping in the wind.

“There was a loud bang … and then the plane really started shaking,” passenger Allison Sudiacal told Hawaii News Now . “There was a loud boom and then it was like rattling and the plane was kind of shaking like boom, boom, boom.”

Sudiacal was traveling with her 4-month-old son, her husband, Tim, and his parents.
• Here we go again: FAA investigating another SFO landing mishap “They let us know that we had to brace for impact in case there was a rough landing. It was scary. But they did a really good job,” Sudiacal said.

An emergency was declared due to a vibration in the right engine, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said in an email, adding that the agency will investigate the incident.</s>A United Airlines plane was able to land safely in Hawaii Tuesday afternoon after experiencing engine trouble over the Pacific Ocean during a flight from San Francisco to Honolulu.

According to an FAA spokesperson, Flight 1175, a Boeing 777 out of San Francisco International Airport, declared an emergency due to a vibration in its right engine. The plane landed on the runway at Honolulu International Airport on Tuesday afternoon without incident, the FAA said.

An FAA official told NBC News that it appears the engine cowling or casing came off during the flight. The engine does not appear to have come apart and appears to still be operating normally. 



The FAA is investigating the incident. In a follow-up statement, the agency said the flight landed safely after the pilots called for an emergency landing because of a loss of the covering of the engine. "Our pilots followed all necessary protocols to safely land the aircraft. The aircraft taxied to the gate and passengers deplaned normally," a spokesperson told NBC News.



NBC News aviation expert John Cox says losing an engine cowling or casing should not impact the performance of the engine. The plane and everyone on board should not have been in danger.

Google engineer Erik Haddad, who was on the United flight, tweeted out photos and videos.



"Aloha," Haddad tweeted at 2:45 p.m., along with a photo of parts of the engine coming apart.

"That looks bad, plane and simple," he tweeted next, with a video of engine casing flapping in mid-air. That tweet was followed by another photo of Haddad holding an emergency manual in front of the window, with the malfunctioning engine part in the foreground. "I don't see anything about this in the manual," the tweet said.

Haddad's tweet was retweeted more than 400 times within the hour. He also responded to various media outlets, letting everyone know he was safe.

Haley Ebert, who was also on the same flight, also tweeted out a video of the cowling coming off, along with a photo of the exposed engine after the plane landed on the ground.

"When the engine blows off during her flight," she captioned her video.

Later she tweeted: "#ua1175 so glad we are all safe after our emergency landing."

Another passenger, Maria Falaschi, tweeted out more pictures of the casing coming off, captioning it "scariest flight of my life." Falaschi told reporters passengers heard a big bang and the plane started to shake violently. "The pilots and crew did a great job at keeping us updated," she said.

According to Falaschi, the incident took place about 45 minutes before the flight landed at Honolulu airport.

"Where did that engine's cowling go?" a Twitter user asked her.

"It's floating somewhere in the Pacific Ocean...," she responded.</s>A United Airlines plane was able to land safely in Hawaii Tuesday afternoon after one of is engine casings blew off over the Pacific Ocean during a flight from San Francisco to Honolulu.

According to Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Ian Gregor, Flight 1175, a Boeing 777 out of San Francisco International Airport, declared an emergency due to a vibration in its right engine. The plane landed on the runway at Honolulu International Airport 12:40 p.m. local time Tuesday afternoon without incident, he said.

An FAA official told NBC News that it appears the engine cowling or casing came off during the flight. The engine does not appear to have come apart and appears to still be operating normally, the official said.

A San Francisco couple said flight attendants told them to brace for impact.

"I saw a bunch of other people crying around me," Tim Sudiacal said. "I think we were bracing for the worst, like, what if this actually lands on the water."

"My husband and I were just praying because we had never gone through this experience. I really thought we were going to die."

The FAA is investigating the incident, and the NTSB has sent a team of two to look into how the cover might have come off. In a follow-up statement, the agency said the flight landed safely after the pilots called for an emergency landing because of a loss of the covering of the engine. "Our pilots followed all necessary protocols to safely land the aircraft. The aircraft taxied to the gate and passengers deplaned normally," a spokesperson told NBC News.

NBC News aviation expert John Cox said that losing an engine cowling should not impact the performance of the engine. The plane and everyone on board should not have been in danger, Cox said.

"This sounds like the cowling had not been properly secured the last time maintenance had occurred, and so it's great that it was something like that as opposed to an engine shutting down, which would be a bigger issue," he said.

Google engineer Erik Haddad, who was on the United flight, tweeted out photos and videos.

"Aloha," Haddad tweeted at 2:45 p.m., along with a photo of parts of the engine coming apart.

"That looks bad, plane and simple," he tweeted next, with a video of the engine casing flapping in mid-air. That tweet was followed by another photo of Haddad holding an emergency manual in front of the window, with the malfunctioning engine part in the foreground. "I don't see anything about this in the manual," the tweet said.

Haddad's tweet was retweeted more than 400 times within the hour. He also responded to various media outlets, letting everyone know he was safe.

Haley Ebert, who was also on the same flight with her sister, tweeted out a video of the cowling coming off, along with a photo of the exposed engine after the plane landed on the ground.

"When the engine blows off during her flight," she captioned her video.

Later she tweeted: "#ua1175 so glad we are all safe after our emergency landing."

Another passenger, Maria Falaschi, tweeted out more pictures of the casing coming off, captioning it "scariest flight of my life." Falaschi told reporters passengers heard a big bang and the plane started to shake violently. "The pilots and crew did a great job at keeping us updated," she said.

According to Falaschi, the incident took place about 45 minutes before the flight landed at Honolulu airport.

"Where did that engine's cowling go?" a Twitter user asked her.

"It's floating somewhere in the Pacific Ocean...," she responded.

NBC Bay Area's Ian Cull and NBC News contributed to this report.
United Airlines Flight 1175 traveling to Honolulu from San Francisco lands safely at Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii, after the pilots call for an emergency landing because of a loss of the engine cowling.