Terrifying moment sparks fly off United Airlines plane during take-off
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Eerie moment as sparks fly from a United Airlines plane as debris falls to the ground during takeoff before dumping fuel and diving back for a safe emergency landing at Newark Airport
- United Airlines 777 filmed spattering sparks and losing debris after takeoff
- Plane circled over the ocean for 90 minutes before making an emergency landing
- Video captured a scary moment, suspected hydraulic pressure pump failure
- The FAA confirmed the crew reported an emergency and landed safely in Newark
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A United Airlines plane had to make an emergency landing last night after a shower of sparks flew and debris fell to the ground shortly after takeoff from Newark Airport.
The Boeing 777-200ER, taking off from Newark at 11:24 p.m. en route to Sao Paulo, Brazil, had to enter a hold pattern at 24,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean after experiencing what is believed to be a hydraulic pressure pump failure.
About an hour and a half later, after dumping fuel across the ocean to reduce weight, the plane made a safe emergency landing back at Newark Airport.
The terrifying moment was reportedly captured on video by a nearby plane spotter, who captured the shower of sparks pouring from the Boeing 777’s landing gear.
He also took a photo of a rectangular, rusty-looking piece of rubble falling to the ground.
The Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed the plane landed safely after the crew reported an emergency and an investigation is underway.
There were no reports of casualties or injuries among the crew and passengers.
Video of what was believed to be a United Airlines Boeing 777 throwing debris and showers of sparks was captured last night after it took off from Newark
A photo of the debris falling from the plane was taken by a nearby plane spotter. The Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed that they are investigating the incident
The incident is not the first involving United Airlines’ fleet of rapidly aging Boeing 777s, some of the oldest models of their kind in the world.
In February 2021, a United Airlines Boeing 777 suffered an unattended engine failure after departing Denver for Honolulu.
Just four minutes into takeoff, there was a loud bang and pieces of the engine began to fall to the ground over Broomfield, Colorado.
Jet engine parts were scattered all over the suburb, with the entire engine intake lip ending up in one piece in a resident’s front yard. No one was injured in the incident.
Airplane spotter Hayden Smith captured the dramatic moment on camera from the ground.
All 241 passengers and crew were able to land safely 23 minutes after takeoff and just 19 minutes after the engine imploded.
The incident isn’t the first involving United Airlines’ fleet of rapidly aging Boeing 777s (pictured), some of the oldest models of their kind in the world.
The airline later released a statement announcing “out of an abundance of caution” that they were grounding 24 Boeing 777 aircraft “powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000 series engines from [their] scheme.’
The Federal Aviation Administration subsequently announced that all Boeing 777s equipped with Pratt & Whitney PW4070 engines would be grounded until further notice.
During this time, a thorough investigation into the engine failure was conducted.
United Airlines said they are working closely with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board to “determine additional steps needed to ensure that [their] planes meet [their] strict safety standards and can be put back into service.’
The FAA has issued a directive that extra care should be taken in the maintenance inspection of Boeing 777s.
In particular, the FAA cites the “hollow fan blades unique to this engine model” as the reason for the incident.