A United Airlines plane was forced to abort takeoff as one of its wings caught fire on Sunday, US media reported.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said United Airlines Flight 1382, an Airbus A320, aborted takeoff from George Bush Airport (IAH) in Houston, Texas, at 8:30 a.m. local time due to a reported engine failure.
Footage obtained by Fox 26 showed panic from frightened passengers and also showed flames bursting out of one of the plane’s wings as the aircraft began to pick up speed for takeoff.
There were 104 passengers and five crew members on board at the time of the incident. Passengers ran out onto the runway and were taken to the terminal by bus. No injuries have been reported so far.
There have been two plane crashes in the US in the last week at once. On January 29, an American Airlines passenger plane and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter collided in the skies above Washington, killing 67 people. On January 31, a Learjet 55 medical flight crashed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The air crash killed at least 7 people and resulted in the hospitalisation of 19.
