Passenger testimonials (audio in English)
(CNN) -
The loud roar was unmistakable aboard the plane with United Flight 328 just after takeoff on Saturday.
Clearly, something had gone very wrong.
Some of the 241 people on the flight from Denver International Airport to Honolulu opened their windows to see an exposed engine spewing flames and pieces of the plane falling.
Others closed their windows, grabbed their loved ones, and prayed.
Thousands of feet below, in a Denver suburb, people on the ground ran for cover to avoid debris that suddenly fell to the ground.
The pilots issued an emergency call and, after returning to the airport, safely landed Unted's Boeing 777-200 aircraft.
Surprisingly, there were no reports of injuries either in the air or on the ground.
Still, interviews with passengers show that the incident caused quite a scare for everyone involved.
This is how those in the air and below said they reacted during those tense moments.
"There was a big explosion," said a passenger on the United plane
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Travis Loock, a passenger on Flight 328, told CNN that it was about 20 minutes after takeoff for Honolulu that he heard an explosion.
"There was a big bang and the kind of sound you don't want to hear when you're on a plane," Loock, who was flying with his wife, said in a phone call.
"And instantly I raised my blind, and I was quite scared to see that the engine was missing from my side."
"We are glad we didn't cross the ocean, because that's where we were going," he said.
Loock said he could feel fear on the plane, but everyone was "very calm."
"A lot of people couldn't see the motor on that side, right, so I was a little more scared because I could see it and I knew it wasn't right," he said.
Nate Fisher also heard the sound.
"At first I thought lightning struck the plane," he told CNN affiliate KCNC.
When Bob Brown heard the explosion, he looked out the window, saw the engine damage, and took out his phone to film it.
"We looked at each other, my wife and I, we held hands and we wish our children would see them again," he told KCNC.
Mike Vena was in the middle of the plane when he heard the explosion.
"The plane started shaking and it was like that for about half an hour until the plane landed," he told KCNC.
"Let's just pray"
Vena said the professionalism of the crew calmed them down, but said he was still concerned.
"There was no panic among the crew, there was no panic among the passengers," he said.
"I was only worried about my children because they are not with us, so they are in school and this is our first vacation alone in 21 years."
"At first, I think I was pretty scared," Dan Smith of Portland, Maine, told KCNC, "but I think people did a good job of calming down."
Brenda Dohn, who was traveling with her children, saw smoke through the window and knew something was wrong.
"My daughter was sitting in the window and I was like, 'Don't look, let's close it and pray,'" she told CNN affiliate KUSA.
So that's what we did.
We hold hands and say a few prayers.
Debris from a United plane fell onto a soccer field in Broomfield, Colorado, on Saturday.
Danielle Thomas, who lives in Honolulu, praised the flight crew for their behavior.
"I think the pilots have contributed enormously to everyone feeling safe and comfortable," he told KCNC.
Troy Lewis said he was confident they would return safely.
"As soon as we turned and got to see the catwalk, I made sure our family told each other that we love each other," she told KUSA.
"It makes you suddenly remember all those things that you can easily forget."
When the United plane landed safely, people cheered before leaving.
Once safely back on land, Loock said he calmed his nerves and prepared for the rest of the trip.
"Let's have a cocktail," Loock said.
And yes, let's try again.
Let's try it again.
The odds are with us this time.
He was not alone in wanting to continue his journey.
United said in a statement that most of the passengers took another United flight to Honolulu, while "those who did not wish to travel with us tonight were given hotel accommodations."
What those on the ground did
"We watched it go by, we heard the big bang, we looked up, there was black smoke in the sky," Cain told CNN.
Debris from the aircraft landed outside a home in Broomfield, Colorado, on Saturday.
"Debris started raining down, which you know, it looked like it was floating and it wasn't very heavy, but now looking at it, it's giant pieces of metal all over the place," he said.
"I was surprised that the plane continued without interruption, without really altering its trajectory or doing anything," he said.
"It just went on like nothing."
Cain said he and his children took shelter in a gazebo near the playground and saw debris fall about two to three blocks away.
A Broomfield homeowner told KCNC he was making sandwiches for his daughters when debris from the United plane crashed through his roof.
Another man, Mark Moskovics, told KCNC that he heard a loud bang and looked outside to see a large chunk of debris fall from the sky onto the street.
"So I went upstairs to find my wife and baby who were napping and took them down and make sure they were safe," he said.
Jim Hunter was training soccer practice at Commons Park when he saw debris fall from the sky.
The soccer team ran to safety and no one was injured.
They were everywhere.
The sky was full of these pieces raining on the field, "he told KUSA.
CNN's Hollie Silverman contributed to this report.
