A United Airbus A320-200, registration N490UA performing flight UA-325 from Hartford,CT to Denver,CO (USA) with 129 people on board, was climbing out of Hartford’s runway 24 advising they possibly needed to return to Hartford, they were working on an issue. The following departure reported there was debris on the runway right at the center line.
UA-325 stopped the climb at 4000 feet, entered a hold until the runway was cleared. The crew suspected a blown tyre and queried tower about what kind of debris this was and advised they were overweight, so not in a hurry to land back, the engines, especially the right hand engine, were running within parameters, they had a light pop upon rotation for takeoff and might have had a tyre damaged or a bird strike. The aircraft returned to Hartford for a safe landing on runway 29 about 45 minutes after departure.
The airline reported the aircraft lost a portion of the sound dampening outer liner.
The FAA reported: “United Airlines Flight 325 returned safely to Bradley International Airport in Connecticut around 8:45 a.m. local time on Thursday, June 20, after the crew reported an abnormal noise. The Airbus A320 was headed to Denver International Airport. The FAA will investigate.”
A ground observer reported on departure the aircraft left large pieces of debris behind. A subsequent runway inspection confirmed large pieces of debris, sheet metal. Upon landing the aircraft left even more debris on the runway.
Source – Aviation Herald
