A United Airlines flight bound for Fort Myers from Houston had to return on Monday when one of its engines caught fire, causing concern among several of the 167 passengers onboard Flight 1118.
Passengers captured video footage showing flames emanating from one of the plane’s engines during the incident.
David Gruninger, among those aboard the connecting flight back to Florida after attending a wedding in Mexico with 15 friends, vividly described the startling moment: “There was just this bright, flashing light that came through the window, and it sounded like a bomb went off, and then it was just a strobe of fire out the window.”
According to FlightAware data, the Boeing 737 departed George Bush Intercontinental Airport at 6:40 p.m., but swiftly turned back at 6:52 p.m., shortly after leaving Houston airspace.
Passenger Elliot Trexler recounted the frightening experience of the plane nosediving and rocking as it struggled to return to the airport: “The plane was nosediving, and the pilot was bringing the plane back up. The plane was also rocking back and forth a lot.”
Radio transmissions from the aircraft shed light on the severity of the situation, with a pilot reporting engine surges and momentary flames from the left engine.
Reflecting on the chaos, Gruninger shared: “And then it just turned into chaos. People were screaming and crying and trying to figure out what was going on.”
Trexler even began composing a farewell message to his wife, fearing the worst: “I emailed her an email that said, ‘I love you, and you should feel free to move on.'”
The flight safely landed back at Bush Airport at 7:13 p.m., just 33 minutes after takeoff, with passengers experiencing a turbulent return and a harsh landing.
United Airlines promptly arranged for a new aircraft to transport passengers to Fort Myers later that evening, offering them a $200 flight credit and a $15 meal voucher.
The airline assured that the safety of passengers remains paramount, stating, “United flight 1118 returned to Houston shortly after takeoff due to an engine issue. The flight landed safely, and the passengers deplaned normally. We arranged for a new aircraft to take our customers to their destination, which departed for Fort Myers later that evening.”
