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United Flight Diverted After Evacuation Slide Opens Mid-Flight

A flight bound for Southern California from Chicago was diverted to Wichita late Sunday after the emergency evacuation slide accidentally deployed.
Image: Passenger Taylor Martinez posted a picture of the slide after it deployed accidentally mid-flight.
Passenger Taylor Martinez posted a picture of the slide after it deployed accidentally mid-flight.Taylor Martinez / Taylor Martinez via Twitter

An evacuation slide accidentally inflated mid-flight on a United Airlines jet bound to California Sunday night, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Kansas. After landing, passenger Sara Schroeder tweeted: "Gentlemen in shiny metallic suits checking out the @united plane." Nobody was injured, the airline said.

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Flight 1463 made a rapid descent, according to Flight Aware website, and landed in Wichita at 10:36 p.m. local time (11:36 p.m. ET). The Boeing 737-700 with 96 aboard took off from Chicago at 8:18 p.m. (9:18 p.m. ET), according to airline spokeswoman Christen David. She added that the airline was flying in another aircraft to resume the flight "and get our customers to their final destination as quickly as possible."

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