United flight from San Francisco to Boston diverted due to damage to one of its wings

United Airlines says a flight heading from San Francisco to Boston had to be diverted after the plane suffered damage to one of its wings

United Flight Diverted (AP2010)

United Airlines says a flight heading from San Francisco to Boston had to be diverted after the plane suffered damage to one of its wings.

United said Tuesday that the Boeing 757-200 with 165 passengers aboard landed in Denver on Monday to “address an issue with the slat” on one of its wings. The plane landed safely. Passengers were put on a different plane and arrived later in the day in Boston.

Chicago-based United did not say what caused the damage to the plane's wing. Boston 25 News broadcast a passenger’s video showing the panel partially shredded.

Slats are moveable panels on the front or leading edge of the wing and are used during takeoffs and landings.

The incident came at a time of heightened passenger jitters after last month’s blowout of a door panel on an Alaska Airlines jetliner flying over Oregon. A preliminary investigation attributed the blowout to missing bolts that helped secure a panel to the frame of a Boeing 737 Max 9.