‘BOOM’

Family Member Describes Shock After Plane Slide Plummets Into Yard

Two people were inside a home having lunch when an emergency evacuation slide detached from a plane overhead and plummeted into their yard.

A family member of the owners of a home where an emergency slide plummeted mid-air and landed in their backyard has described how the family were alerted to a large “boom” as it made impact. The evacuation slide came from a United Airlines Boeing 767 plane which was in the air close to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport when the slide came undone. Patrick Devitt told WLS that his father-in-law and son were inside their home having lunch in the kitchen when they heard a “boom” from the backyard at approximately 12:15 p.m local time. The father-in-law rushed outside to find the slide, along with damage to the roof shingles, downspout and a kitchen window screen. A call to 911 was made. “When it’s all stretched out... it’s larger than a small car,” Devitt said, who was on his way home from work at the time of the incident. “It’s a very, very big piece of equipment that fell. I’m stunned a little bit.” Maintenance workers at O’Hare discovered a plane that had landed in Chicago from Switzerland was missing its slide, WLS reported. An investigation is underway.