Yet another safety incident has occurred aboard a Boeing aircraft, this time on a 737 heading from Houston to Fort Myers, Florida on Monday 4 March. The plane’s engine caught fire only minutes after takeoff, leading to an emergency landing.
🇺🇸 BOEING SUFFERS ANOTHER MID-AIR ENGINE FIRE
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 7, 2024
The United Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing in Texas minutes after take-off when flames began shooting from one of its engines.
This is the second mid-air engine fire to affect Boeing in the U.S this year, after a… https://t.co/HxaPH1RHeB pic.twitter.com/SKbHofwcZj
Video captured at the time reveals flashing flames streaming from the engine’s left wing while an on-board announcement can be heard noting: “Hey ladies and gentlemen, we realised something happened outside.”
I remember there was just this bright, flashing light that came through the window, and it sounded like a bomb went off, and then it was just a strobe of fire out the window.
passenger David Gruninger told Houston’s KTRK-TV
Emergency landing and meal vouchers
Around 25 minutes after takeoff, flight UA1118 had performed a U-turn and headed back to George Bush Intercontinental, where it completed an emergency landing at approximately 7:00 pm.
No passengers or crew were reported to be hurt, despite what Gruninger described as “a very turbulent ride back” and “a pretty harsh landing.”
United Airlines declared “the flight landed safely and the passengers deplaned normally.” A new aircraft was arranged “to take our customers to their destination” the carrier added. An email sent to passengers offered compensation in the form a $200 flight credit and a $15 meal voucher.
Boeing’s safety record
The incident is being investigated by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which has had its work cut out recently after a number of critical safety events involving Boeing craft.
A plugged door blew out of a Boeing Max 9 Alaska Airlines flight out of Portland, causing the whole US fleet to be grounded by the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board pending investigation and tests.
In addition, a 757’s nose wheel fell off Delta Airlines flight 982 and rolled down the runway at Atlanta just as the plane was about to take off with 200 passengers on board.
And another Boeing, this time operated on a United Airlines flight out of San Francisco, recently dropped a wheel from mid-air onto an employee car park and was forced to divert to LAX. No one was hurt.
The heightened scrutiny of the manufacturer’s quality and safety testing procedures has led to accusations that the firm is rushing and skipping processes in order to meet delivery dates. Boeing’s CEO meanwhile has advocated for complete transparency in response to the incidents.
