On Sunday, February 2, United Airlines Flight 1382 was already taking off from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, at around 8:35 a.m., according to PEOPLE. However, an engine failure that led to a fire reported by the plane's passengers eventually forced the plane to stop its take-off and its passengers had to be evacuated immediately.
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The United Airlines flight was heading to LaGuardia Airpot in New York City when, according to the FAA, it experienced an engine issue. Footage shared by Fox 26 shows the plane's passengers getting worked up by the sight of one of the plane's engines getting engulfed in fire. A flight attendant in the video tells passengers to remain in their seats. One passenger, gathering the overall sentiment, told the attendant: "No, it's on fire."
Eventually, the take-off was canceled, and all the passengers were evacuated by using the plane's stairs and the emergency slide. A total of 104 passengers and five crew members were inside the Airbus A319 when the incident took place.
"There are no reported injuries at this time. We lined up a different aircraft to take customers to their destination at 2:00 p.m. CT," United Airlines said in a statement.
Panic
One woman, Ashlyn Sharp, spoke with Fox 26 and told reporter Jade Flury about how the whole incident took place from a passenger's perspective. While the plane was taking off, Sharp was trying to get some sleep. However, she was interrupted when she heard a loud noise and felt the plane shake.
"We weren't that high up, I don't think," Sharp told Flury. "It sounded like something flew into the engine or something. [It] scared everyone. That's when we all looked out our window and saw the engine and the wing on fire, and we could smell the smoke inside."
Given the recent Washington D.C. and Philadelphia plane crashes, many of the passengers inside began to panic. Sharp, however, tried to remain calm.
"I definitely was full on anxiety mode when I started seeing people start screaming, rushing, trying to get out, crying," Sharp said. "It was just a nightmare, especially with everything going on right now. Not what I had in my cards this morning."
Eventually, the plane stopped, and passengers began to be evacuated. That is when Sharp knew everything was going to be fine and she was safe. She was booked on another flight after spending 2.5 hours on the tarmac. Similarly, the other passengers were able to make their destination, albeit a bit later than expected.
