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'Is Donnie Darko OK?': United Airlines Boeing 777 EXPLODES at 15,000ft, Internet remembers 2001 sci-fi thriller

The Boeing 777-200 plane, which was carrying 231 passengers and 10 crew on board, was heading to Honolulu when it suffered engine failure, 15,000ft above ground soon after takeoff

A United Airlines flight managed to land safely at Denver International Airport on Saturday, February 20, after suffering a right engine failure, the Federal Aviation Administration said, with dramatic images showing debris from the plane scattered on the ground. People referred to the horrifying scene from the 2001 sci-fi thriller 'Donnie Darko' pointing out the plane debris that crash-landed in the Colorado neighborhood. 

The Boeing 777-200 plane, which was carrying 231 passengers and 10 crew on board, was heading to Honolulu when it suffered engine failure, 15,000ft above ground soon after takeoff. Images and videos of the incident went viral on the Internet. Images from Colorado appeared to show plane debris on the ground, including an engine cowling scattered outside a home and what appeared to be other parts on a turf field. Police tape was used to cordon off the debris.

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One footage that appeared to be taken from inside the plane showed an engine on fire. Another video on social media showed a cloud of black smoke being left by a plane. "Something blew up," a man on the video can be heard saying. In an audio recording, a pilot is heard saying "Mayday, aircraft just experienced engine failure, need to turn immediately," according to audio from the monitoring website liveatc.net which was reviewed by Reuters.

"Flight 328 from Denver to Honolulu experienced an engine failure shortly after departure, returned safely to Denver and was met by emergency crews as a precaution. There are no reported injuries on board and we will share more information as it becomes available," United Airlines' spokesperson David Gonzalez said in a statement. 

United said it is in contact with the FAA, NTSB as well as local law enforcement. “All passengers and crew have deplaned and been transported back to the terminal. We are now working to get our customers on a new flight to Honolulu in the next few hours,” in Denver, United said in a statement. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA stated that its employee assistance and safety committees were assisting crews. “We’re grateful the plane landed safely,” the labor union said. 

The Broomfield Police Department posted photos on Twitter showing large, circular pieces of debris leaning against a house in a suburb about 25 miles north of Denver. 

"If you find debris PLEASE don’t touch it or move it. The @NTSB wants all debris to remain in place for investigation," the Broomfield police department said on Twitter. The 26-year-old 777 was powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines. 

CNN Journalist Pete Muntean tweeted pictures of the incident and said, "JUST IN: Denver International Airport officials tell us United Airlines Flight 328 bound for Honolulu returned to the airport after an engine problem. Neighbors heard a loud boom, took these photos of what look like Boeing 777 engine nacelle in their yards."

Another Twitter user posted a picture and wrote, "We have 3 small pieces of strange brown paper in our yard in Aspen Creek right off of Sheridan that wasn’t there before noon. Not sure if this is report-worthy or not."

Sharing a firey video, one person said, "Flight 328 @united engine caught fire. my parents are on this flight  everyone’s okay though!" Journalist Mark Sallinger also posted a video and said, "BREAKING United flight 328 lands at DIA after losing part of its engine en route to Hawaii. Debris fell into a neighborhood in Broomfield as passengers onboard described a loud bang. You can hear passengers clapping when the plane touched down. Video: Troy Lewis #9News."

Some people started making the connection of the incident to 'Donnie Darko' saying, "I see they started filming Donnie Darko 2 in Denver this weekend," and "The engine falling Donnie Darko nonsense going on in Colorado is because someone doubted their commitment to Sparkle Motion."

Another one joked, "Oh f*ck someone check Donnie Darko’s room and see if he’s ok." While another one said, "The marketing campaign for the 20th anniversary of DONNIE DARKO is out of control."

The official plot of 'Donnie Darko' reads, "After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes."

A Wiki fan page for science fiction psychological thriller film from 2001, written and directed by Richard Kelly, describes the a plane crash scene in the movie: "In Donnie Darko, the artifact takes the appearance of a Jet Engine that crashes on Donnie's bedroom. At the end of the film, the engine is pulled from a jet plane by Donnie and enters a wormhole 28 days into the past along with Donnie as the Jet Engine crashes onto Donnie's Bedroom this time killing him."

Artifacts have been described as 'abnormal objects which appear when a Tangent Universe is formed' and played a vital role in the 'Donnie Darko' film.