United Airlines flight from Houston to NYC evacuated after 'reported engine issue'
Passengers and the crew of a United Airlines flight from Houston to New York City were evacuated after an engine issue was reported Sunday morning, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The crew of United Airlines Flight 1382 "safely aborted its takeoff" from the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston due to a "reported engine issue" at around 8:35 a.m. local time Sunday, according to the FAA. Passengers on the flight were deplaned on the runway and bused to the terminal.
"During takeoff, United flight 1382 received an indication about one engine and halted the takeoff while still on the runway," a United Airlines spokesperson told USA TODAY in a statement.
The Houston Fire Department said airport rescue firefighters assisted with the evacuation and that no injuries were reported. A video taken by a passenger and circulated on social media showed smoke and flames coming from a wing of the plane.
"HFD did not put out a fire on this incident," the fire department said on social media. "Yes, we are aware of the video. When our units arrived, there was no fire to put out."
According to United Airlines, the flight was en route to LaGuardia Airport in New York City. The 104 passengers and five crew members aboard the flight were evacuated on the runway with slides and stairs and were later rebooked for an afternoon flight.
The FAA said it will investigate the incident.
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Latest aviation incident in recent days
Sunday's evacuation at the Houston airport is the latest aviation incident to occur in recent days, including two fatal crashes that have stunned the nation.
On Saturday, the FAA's "Notice to Air Mission," or NOTAM, system experienced a temporary outage. The system, which provides pilots, flight crews, and other users of U.S. airspace with critical safety notice, resumed operations on Sunday morning.
"The agency activated its contingency system to supplement and support preflight briefings and continue flight operations. There were no operational impacts in the National Airspace System," the FAA said in a statement on Sunday. "We are investigating the root cause of the outage."
On Sunday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNN's "State of the Union" that the system was old and needed to be upgraded.
On Friday, a Medevac jet crashed into a busy neighborhood in Philadelphia, killing seven people and injuring over 20 others. The fiery tragedy came just days after an American Airlines passenger plane and an Army helicopter collided near Washington, D.C., killing 67 people.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: United Airlines flight in Texas evacuated after engine issue reported
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