United Airlines Flight 1382 was evacuated after passengers noticed flames on one of the aircraft’s wings due to an engine malfunction during an aborted takeoff.
According to Newsweek, the incident occurred at 8:35 AM on Sunday at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport as the Airbus A319, bound for New York, began taxiing down the runway. Passengers alerted the crew to the fire, prompting the emergency evacuation.
A video of the incident went viral on social media, showing cabin crew inside the moving aircraft instructing passengers to stay seated while one traveler loudly pointed out: “No, it’s on fire.”
This incident came just days after the deadliest domestic plane crash in nearly two decades, which killed 67 people in a collision between a passenger plane and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington.
The aircraft in Houston was quickly evacuated via emergency slides, and all 104 passengers and five crew members survived without injuries. However, one passenger told Fox 26 that they were stranded on the tarmac for about two and a half hours, waiting for shuttles, ambulances, and police.
United Airlines later arranged for another flight to New York, departing at 2:00 PM CT.
In a statement to Newsweek, United Airlines said: “During takeoff, United Flight 1382 received an indication about one engine and halted the takeoff while still on the runway. Passengers deplaned on the runway via a combination of slides and stairs and were bused to the terminal. There are no reported injuries at this time. We lined up a different aircraft to take customers to their destination at 2:00 PM CT.”
Separately, within its first two weeks in office, the Trump administration offered buyouts to air traffic control workers, and Elon Musk demanded the resignation of FAA head Michael Whitaker.
Meanwhile, the FAA, still without a leader, is investigating the incident.
