NOT A BOEING

Engine on United Airlines Flight Catches Fire Right Before Takeoff

No one was injured when the plane’s engine started smoking on the taxiway at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

The air travel horror stories aren’t letting up anytime soon. On Monday, a United Airlines flight aborted takeoff after the plane’s engine caught fire while on the taxiway at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. The Seattle-bound flight was halted around 2 p.m. on Monday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. In a video shared by ABC 7 Chicago, dark puffs of smoke are seen rushing from the wing of the Airbus 320, which was reportedly towed to the gate, where all 148 passengers and five crew members deplaned. The passenger who shot the video told ABC 7, “I felt the impact on my window. As I looked, the engine was on fire and smoke was coming out.” No injuries were reported, and passengers were offered alternative flights, according to United, which added that the engine issue was “immediately addressed” by the local ground crew and emergency responders. Still, the engine fire prompted all arriving flights at the Chicago airport to be temporarily stopped—a surely headache-inducing development amid a busy holiday travel weekend.