United 767 Loses Emergency Slide In Flight

A United Airlines Boeing 767-300 lost an emergency evacuation slide shortly before landing at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) on Monday. No problems were experienced in flight and the missing…

Not incident aircraft. Image: Aero Icarus – CC BY-SA 2.0/Wikimedia Commons

A United Airlines Boeing 767-300 lost an emergency evacuation slide shortly before landing at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) on Monday. No problems were experienced in flight and the missing equipment was discovered by a maintenance crew after the aircraft landed. The slide itself was found in a neighborhood approximately four miles east of ORD when Chicago police were called to the site.

“We immediately contacted the FAA and are working with our team to better understand the circumstances around this matter,” United said.

No injuries have been reported and the slide has been retrieved. A nearby house reportedly sustained minor damage when the slide came down in the backyard. The aircraft, United Flight 12, was travelling to ORD from Switzerland's Zurich Airport (ZRH) with 10 crew members and 155 passengers onboard. The FAA is investigating the incident.

This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

Kate O’Connor works as AVweb's Editor-in-Chief. She is a private pilot, certificated aircraft dispatcher, and graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.