Category - Cities
United Airlines Flight Evacuated After Fire Breaks Out
A United Airlines flight had to be evacuated shortly after takeoff when a fire broke out and smoke began to fill the cabin, causing mass panic.
“HFD’s Airport Rescue Firefighters are assisting at [George Bush Intercontinental Airport] after a departing plane reported an issue on the runway,” the Houston Fire Department wrote on Sunday in a statement posted to X. Firefighters helped passengers off the plane before conducting a search of the aircraft. No injuries were reported in the incident, and the department added that they did not need to extinguish any fire at the scene.
Related: Man Who Crashed Drone Into Fire Relief Plane Pleads Guilty
The issue occurred as the plane was taxiing down the runway, with the Federal Aviation Administration confirming that the vessel was evacuated prior to takeoff. The FAA added that the issue stemmed from the plane’s engine without elaborating on the precise cause.
Fox 26 published a passenger’s recording of the scary incident which shows the plane’s right wing on fire as concerned passengers fill the aisles preparing for escape. “It’s on fire!” someone can be heard shouting. United Airlines confirmed to CNN that each of the 104 passengers and five crew members on board were evacuated using inflatable slides. The aftermath of this is caught on video as well, with the passengers appearing somewhat lost as they mill about waiting for instruction.
Ashlyn Sharp, who recorded the video, recalled the chaotic scene. She said she was trying to fall asleep when she heard what “sounded like something [flying] into the engine or something. [It] scared everyone. That's when we all looked out our window and saw the engine and the wing on fire, and we could smell the smoke inside."
Sharp continued: "I knew we were OK since we were on the ground, [but] I definitely [went into] full-on anxiety mode when I started seeing people start screaming, rushing, trying to get out, crying. It was just a nightmare, especially with everything going on right now,” she said of the recent deadly plane crash in Washington, D.C.
"[The crew] eventually got us on the emergency slide out the back [of the plane] when they realized we're not gonna stay in our seats much longer,” Sharp explained. “And then we ended up being stuck on the tarmac for about two-and-a-half hours. Then [they] got a bunch of shuttles, ambulances, cops came. Hopefully, it was just a freak accident. I'm glad everyone was okay."
The passengers, who were bound for New York City, were ferried to their destination later that day on a different aircraft.