Plane Emergency At Newark Halts Air Traffic Wednesday

NEWARK, NJ — Newark Liberty International Airport was briefly closed and under a ground stop on Wednesday evening after a JetBlue plane started smoking, requiring an evacuation, according to authorities.

JetBlue flight 543 from Newark to West Palm Beach returned to Newark shortly after takeoff following a reported engine issue and smoke in the cabin, according to JetBlue, which added that the plane landed safely, and customers and crew evacuated using the aircraft’s slides.

"Safety is JetBlue’s top priority," the company said in an email. "We are focused on supporting our customers and crewmembers and will work closely with the appropriate federal authorities to investigate what occurred."

The incident happened shortly before 6 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which will investigate the situation. The airport, in a social media post around 6:30 p.m., confirmed flights were temporarily suspended while the plane was removed from the taxiway and encouraged travelers to check with their airlines for up-to-date flight information.

As of about 7:30 p.m., the airport had been downgraded to a ground delay, with departures from the contiguous U.S. to Newark averaging 123 minutes behind schedule.