Passenger In Emergency Landing 'Felt Like We Won The Big Game'
DENVER (CBS4) - There were tense moments during an emergency landing at Denver International Airport Saturday morning after a United Airlines plane blew a tire after takeoff, forcing the pilot to return to the airport.
Passenger Danny Dodge had his cellphone out and rolling as the mangled tired touched down.
"I had my had my hand up there next to the window with the camera … because at the moment my head had to be down and I couldn't see what i was doing," Dodge told CBS4.
Even before the plane came to a complete stop passengers were breathing a sigh of relief.
Airport officials said the United Express flight with 71 passengers was headed from Denver to Kansas City when it blew a tire during takeoff.
"We are going to have to go back to Denver, it's going to take a little bit," Dodge says in the video he took with his phone. "They told us we're going to have to brace. I don't know if that's a good thing."
Passengers were told to keep their heads down and brace themselves for what could be a bumpy landing.
"They kept repeating this same line to make sure that we were all doing what we were supposed to do," Dodge said.
The cheering when it was all over is something Dodge will never forget.
"Man, it's like in a football game -- everyone cheers and you get such chills down your spine … it's really cool," Dodge said. "It felt like a bunch of people who were just team members and we won the big game."
All of the passengers and crew members made it off the plane safely without any injuries.
The plane was kept on the runway until passengers could board busses and then another plane to Kansas City where they landed with no problems.
