United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey to Los Angeles, California was forced to turn around shortly after takeoff and make an emergency landing after flames were seen spewing from the plane’s engine.
United Airlines flight 1871 was met by fire trucks on the runway shortly after touching down on Wednesday evening, having left the airport only minutes earlier. Shocking eyewitness video taken by one of the horrified passengers on board UA flight 1871 shows flames erupting from the aircraft’s right engine.
“United 1871 from Newark, New Jersey to Los Angeles returned to Newark due to a mechanical issue. The flight landed safely and passengers deplaned normally,” United spokesperson Kimberly Gibbs said afterwards.
The airline did not elaborate on the issue further, but passengers claimed online that they saw the engine spark before shooting flames and failing altogether. The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation into the incident.
