CHANGE OF PLANS

United Airlines Forced to Divert After Mid-Flight Fire

A fire in a power outlet broke out on the Boeing 767-300.

A United Airlines flight was traveling to Newark from Switzerland on Tuesday when a fire in a power outlet broke out, forcing it to divert and land at London’s Heathrow Airport. The flight had taken off from Zurich at 10:15 a.m. and was in the air for only 50 minutes when the crew issued squawk code 7700, an international distress code, according to AirLive. “United flight 135 safely diverted to London Heathrow after our inflight crew quickly extinguished a small fire in a power outlet,” a United spokesperson told People, but did not specify how the outlet fire started. The Daily Beast has reached out for further comment. The passengers were safely deplaned, according to the airline, after the plane landed in London at around 10:48 a.m.