Emergency slide falls from plane, hits Chicago home
May have sounded like loud thunder, but it was an evacuation slide that jolted a family when it fell from the sky as a plane was approaching O'Hare International Airport.
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A United Airlines jetliner soars past an MLS soccer match July 8, 2023, in Commerce City, Colorado. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
July 18 (UPI) -- A Chicago family had a lunchtime surprise when an evacuation slide fell from a plane approaching O'Hare International Airport and struck their house.
Homeowner Patrick Devitt said he was on his way to his family's home on the Northwest Side when his son and father-in-law, who were inside the house, heard a loud noise around 12:15 p.m. Monday.
"So it hit right there on the downspout and came straight down," Devitt told WBBM-TV.
Devitt said the slide caused damage to the roof shingles, downspout and a kitchen window screen before ending up in the back yard.
Devitt dragged the slide to the front of the home.
"When it's all stretched out, like, it's a little jumbled up. I'm sure, in the picture, from when we dragged it out, it's larger than a small car. It's a very, very big piece of equipment that fell," he told WLS-TV.
The family called 911 and a Federal Aviation Administration team arrived about 30 minutes later.
The FAA confirmed crews at O'Hare discovered a United Airlines Boeing 767 that had just landed from Switzerland was missing its emergency slide.
The FAA and United Airlines are investigating what caused the slide to fall from the plane.
"I'm stunned a little bit. I'm just glad that everybody is safe and OK. Just, just seeing that in my back yard, like wow. This really happened. It fell off of an airplane and landed in our back yard," Devitt said.
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