Boeing Airliner Loses Engine Cover at Takeoff

A Southwest Airlines jet returned to Denver on Sunday morning after the engine cover fell off and struck the wing flap during takeoff, the Federal Aviation Administration reports. The Boeing 737 landed safely, and the passengers headed to Houston were being put onto another aircraft, Southwest said in a statement, per the AP. "Our Maintenance teams are reviewing the aircraft," the statement added, as is the FAA. The plane, a 737-800, was towed to the gate after landing, per KDVR.

A passenger on Flight 3695 sent ABC News a video that appears to show the engine's cowling peeling back, flying off, and hitting the wing flap as the plane was lifting off the ground, per KGO. "People in the exit row across from me started yelling at the flight attendants and showing them the damage," the passenger said. "We turned around and made a full-speed landing. The pilots did a great job on the landing." The 737-800 is an older model than Boeing's troubled 737 Max.

(More emergency landing stories.)