Emergency slide falls from United plane, lands in backyard near O'Hare Airport: Chicago police
An emergency slide fell from a plane and landed in a backyard in the 4700 block of North Chester Avenue near Chicago O'Hare Airport, police said.
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A slide fell from a plane into a backyard near Chicago O'Hare Airport on Monday afternoon, police said.
Chicago police said it happened in the 4700 block of North Chester Avenue on the city's Northwest Side.
The emergency slide fell from a United 767 and landed in a backyard. No one was injured.
Patrick Devitt, the homeowner who made the discovery, said he dragged the slide from his backyard to the front.
Devitt said his son and father-in-law were inside their home, having lunch in the kitchen, when they heard a loud "boom" around 12:15 p.m., when Devitt was on his way home from work. The slide had hit the house, causing damage to the roof shingles, downspout and a kitchen window screen.
Devitt's father-in-law then walked outside, saw the slide and alerted his son-in-law.
"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," Devitt said.
They called 9-1-1, and the FAA arrived within 30 minutes.
The FAA said a maintenance crew at O'Hare discovered an emergency slide missing from a United Airlines Boeing 767 that had just landed safely after a flight from Switzerland, and it appears to be the slide in question. In fact, that homeowner said two United representatives this afternoon came by the house to retrieve the slide.
"We immediately contacted the FAA and are working with our team to better understand the circumstances around this matter," said United spokesperson Charles Hobart.
This isn't the first time a Boeing 767 lost its slide, though it is rare. It happened in 2016 in Phoenix near Sky Harbor Airport and again in 2019 in Boston near Logan Airport.
How this slide fell off that plane is still being investigated. Devitt said he's just glad nobody was injured.
The FAA is handling the investigation. Authorities did not immediately provide further information.
This is a developing story. Check back with ABC7 for updates.
Source: WLS-TV
