2024-03-07 20:10:38
The affected plane is a Boeing 737-900, a model with a design similar to the new Max fleet, which is under inspection by US authorities.
In a video spread on social media, bright orange sparks can be seen shooting under the left wing of the plane, just a few centimeters from the passenger windows.
“Hello ladies and gentlemen, we noticed something happened outside,” a crew member can be heard warning passengers before the clip cuts out.
United Airlines Flight 1118 immediately returned shortly before 7:00 p.m. (local time) to George H. Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, where it had taken off minutes before.
The cause of the engine fire has not yet been revealed and is being investigated by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
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“I remember there was a bright, flashing light coming through the window and it sounded like a bomb had gone off” and then the fire was seen, said David Gruninger, who was flying back to his home in Florida with 15 friends after attending a a wedding in Mexico.
The plane had only traveled “approximately 15 minutes” of the two-hour journey to Fort Myers, Florida, when the incident occurred, passenger Dorian D. Cerda, who filmed the sequence, told reporters.
Boeing planes have been undergoing extensive inspection since early January, prompting the FAA to order the temporary grounding of the Boeing 737-9 MAX, causing losses to several major airlines.
The United 737 landed safely in Houston and passengers were loaded onto a replacement plane to continue their journey to RSW.
“The flight landed without problems and the passengers disembarked normally. “We organized a new plane to take our customers to their destination, which departed for Fort Myers that same night,” the airline added.
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