CHICAGO, IL – A Chicago family experienced an unexpected and alarming lunchtime incident when an evacuation slide from an airplane fell and struck their house while the aircraft was approaching O’Hare International Airport.
Patrick Devitt, the homeowner, shared that he was on his way to his family’s home on the Northwest Side when he received a call from his son and father-in-law, who were inside the house at the time of the incident. They heard a loud noise around 12:15 p.m. that startled them.
Devitt recounted that the evacuation slide hit the downspout of the house and then fell straight down, causing damage to the roof shingles, downspout, and a kitchen window screen before landing in the backyard. He described the size of the slide as “larger than a small car” when fully stretched out.
The family quickly moved the slide to the front of their home and immediately contacted emergency services by dialing 911.
Around 30 minutes later, a team from the Federal Aviation Administration arrived to investigate the situation.
Upon investigation, the FAA confirmed that a United Airlines Boeing 767, which had just landed at O’Hare from Switzerland, was missing its emergency slide.
Both the FAA and United Airlines are conducting investigations to determine the cause of the slide detachment from the plane.