Colorado soccer team took cover as plane debris crashed on top of practice
BROOMFIELD, Colo. (NewsNation Now) — Soccer practice abruptly ended for several teams playing right beneath where parts of a Boeing 777 engine showered over Broomfield Saturday.
NewsNation affiliate KDVR spoke to coaches and players forced to dash for cover as it all happened.
“Let me paint a picture of what it was like,” coach Heather Solar said. “I’m standing on the field and every two seconds you heard a boom boom boom because debris is just falling and hitting off the turf. It felt like looking up in the sky you see black objects spinning.”
In 23 years of coaching, Heather Solar says she’s never been more amazed by a group of players before her.
“I was like ‘wow I’ve never seen you guys run this fast,’” Solar said. “They saw my fear and I was like ‘get to safety’ and they just boogied. The kids picked up their backpacks put them on their heads and ran.”
While the team ran for cover under a gazebo, Solar didn’t have that option.
“I couldn’t move because I just recently got ACL surgery so I’m dodging debris saying ‘oh my gosh this is crazy,’” she said, adding “First I thought we were going to war then these two high schooler boys came over and said hey the engine just blew up on a plane.”
A day later Solar takes it all in feeling extremely lucky she and her team were untouched by the shower of debris falling all around them.
“As far as luck and miracle, I’m going to go buy a lottery ticket, seriously.”
No passengers on the flight or bystanders on the ground reported injuries according to authorities. An investigation is ongoing by the FAA and NTSB.