“Please, get us out of here,” were some of the desperate cries of the passengers on United Airlines flight 1382, which had to be evacuated before takeoff on Sunday morning due to flames that caused panic among those on board.
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The incident occurred around 8:30 in the morning at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The flight was carrying 104 passengers and five crew members, who were traveling from Houston to LaGuardia Airport in New York.
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However, the tranquility and excitement for the trip were cut short when flames started to be seen on one of the plane's wings, just before takeoff.
FOX 26 Houston presented the video, taken by one of the passengers, showing how the flames were consuming part of the wing of the United Airlines plane.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that the cause of the fire was an "engine problem" and fortunately, everyone was able to evacuate in time, and no injuries were reported.
For now, it is unknown why the engine failed, so investigations are ongoing to determine the cause.
Testimonials from passengers on the United Airlines plane
According to the video presented by FOX 26 Houston, the flight attendants of the United Airlines flight were only shouting "stay in your seats," while one of the passengers responded: "No, it's on fire."
The aforementioned media outlet reported the testimony of Ashlyn Sharp, who was trying to sleep when the United Airlines plane was taking off. "We weren't that high up, I don't think... It sounded like something hit the engine or something. Everyone got scared. That's when we looked out the window and saw the engine and the wing on fire, and we could smell the smoke inside," she said.
People were running to try to get out of the plane, and it's not surprising, given the sensitivity that still persists due to the air crashes in Washington and Philadelphia.
"I knew we were okay as soon as we were on the ground. I was definitely filled with anxiety when I started to see people screaming. It was just a nightmare, especially with everything that is happening right now. It's not what I had in mind for this morning."
"The crew finally put us on the emergency slide at the back of the plane when they realized we wouldn't be staying in our seats much longer. And then we ended up stuck on the tarmac for about 2.5 hours. Then they got a bunch of shuttles, ambulances, police came," Sharp recounted, emphasizing, "Hopefully, it was just a strange accident."
It was not until 12:30 in the afternoon when the United Airlines passengers.