Summary
- United Airlines flight aborts takeoff resulting from engine fire, causing delays but no injuries reported.
- Passengers safely deplaned and placed on a alternative flight after incident at Chicago O’Hare airport.
- United Airlines faces increased FAA scrutiny following safety incidents, including recent runway tour.
A United Airlines flight from Chicago to Seattle was forced to abort takeoff after one among its engines caught fire. The aircraft was reportedly still on the taxiway preparing to takeoff when its engine began smoking before it returned to the gate, with no injuries reported.
Engine fire on United A320
On Monday afternoon, the flight crew of United Airlines flight 2091 from Chicago O’Hare International (ORD) to Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) needed to reject takeoff resulting from an issue with its left-hand engine, which was seen billowing thick smoke because the Airbus A320-200 prepared to depart. In accordance with an AvHerald report, the tower at Chicago O’Hare spotted smoke coming from the engine, with the crew vacating the runway and shutting the engine down.
Smoke continued to emanate from the engine because the aircraft was towed to the gate, and the Chicago Fire Department and medical teams met the aircraft out of an abundance of caution. Easy Flying reached out to United and received the next statement,
All 148 passengers disembarked the plane safely and were placed on a alternative flight which reached Seattle at a delay of around five and a half hours. All arrivals at Chicago O’Hare were briefly halted resulting from the incident, with several aircraft on approach forced to go around – in all, arrivals were suspended for around 45 minutes.
Aircraft stays grounded
The A320-200 involved on this incident is a 28-year-old airframe, registered as N432UA, delivered to United way back in May 1996. As per data from ch-aviation, the jet is powered by two IAE V2500 engines and has amassed over 81,000 flight hours and 32,000 flight cycles as of December 2023.
The aircraft was involved in a collision with one other United Boeing 737-900ER while being towed to the gate in San Francisco in August 2019. On that occasion, the A320’s right wing made contact with the 737’s left winglet, with the damage to the previous aircraft reported as “substantial”.
United scrutiny continues
United has been under enhanced scrutiny by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after a series of safety incidents this 12 months, including a high-profile runway tour in Houston this March. After clarifying that United had not been cleared to launch latest routes or induct latest aircraft, the agency has said its scrutiny will proceed.
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United Airlines To Face Increased Scrutiny From The FAA After Recent Events
After several incidents, US regulators are looking closely.