Plane Engine Catches Fire After Leaving Newark: Reports

NEWARK, NJ — A United Airlines flight traveling from Newark experienced an emergency while arriving in Houston late Sunday night, possibly after an engine caught fire, reports say.

While some passengers described hearing a “loud bang” and flames coming from the engine, federal authorities said that emergency responders didn’t find evidence of smoke or fire. Crews were expected to take a closer look at the plane on Monday.

The Boeing 737-900 jet was apparently similar to the plane that crashed on Sunday, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 plane that went down with 157 people on board, according to The New York Times.

The Newark-to-Houston incident also took place just a day after a plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Newark Airport in a separate, fire-related incident. That plane, too, was a Boeing 737.

On the Newark-to-Houston flight, there were 174 passengers and six crew members aboard flight 1168 at the time, The Morning Call reported.

United told NJ.com that the flight “experienced an issue with one of the engines shortly before landing,” and that passengers were evacuated and bused to the terminal.

Passengers jumped out of the plane on emergency slides and stayed on the tarmac about a half hour, ABC News 13 reported.

“People were starting to panic,” one passenger told ABC News. “Everyone kept hitting the flight attendant call button.”

A United spokesperson said some people suffered minor injuries while evacuating the plane, The Morning Call reported. (Story continues below)

Just a day before, Newark Airport shut down for a brief period of time Saturday morning after a plane was forced to make an emergency landing there because of a possible fire.

The plane landed safely. Two minor injuries were reported, though they were unrelated to any smoke condition, officials said.

• See related article: Newark Airport Shuts Down Because Of Emergency

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