Terrified passengers were told to evacuate a United Airlines jetliner via slides and stairs at Houston’s main airport on Sunday after the right wing caught fire.
United Airlines flight 1382 to New York City was halted while still on the runway shortly after 8.30am at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement.
An engine problem had caused smoke and fire on the wing during take-off on runway 15R.
There were no injuries and passengers were bused back to the terminal, the FAA said.
The take-off was stopped after the Airbus A319 ‘received an indication about one engine,’ the statement said.
This alarming experience came just days after an American Airlines plane crashed into a military helicopter in Washington DC on Wednesday, causing both to fall into the Potamac River, tragically killing 67 people – 60 passengers, four crew members and three soldiers.
It also comes after the the devastating crash of a medical transport jet in a busy neighborhood in Philadelphia on Friday night, in which seven people died.
A passenger’s video of the incident in Houston showed orange flames and smoke spewing from the wing as it sped down the runway.
A passenger can be heard saying: ‘Please, please, get us out of here.’
The passenger taking the video wrote: ‘My f***ing plane just slammed into the ground and caught on fire.’
The flight had 104 passengers and five crew members and was set to travel to New York´s LaGuardia Airport, United Airlines said in a statement.
The airline said: ‘Passengers deplaned on the runway via a combination of slides and stairs and were bused to the terminal.
‘We lined up a different aircraft to take customers to their destination at 2:00 p.m. CT.’
The Houston Fire Department responded to the incident as part of safety protocols and assisted in deboarding passengers.
They did not put out the fire and said it was already out when units arrived on the scene.
The FAA said it would investigate the incident.
