Mar. 29—A United Airlines flight from Houston to Rio de Janeiro made an emergency landing at Bush Intercontinental Airport Tuesday night after one of its engines possibly caught fire shortly after takeoff, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
United Flight 129 returned safely to the airport after its crew "reported a possible fire in the left engine," according to a statement from the FAA. No injuries were reported.
In a statement, United told the Associated Press the emergency turnaround was because of "a mechanical issue." Passengers were able to get off the plane, and arrangements were made to get them to their destination.
According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, the aircraft was a Boeing 767. It departed Houston at 9:06 p.m., landed a short time later at 9:20 p.m. and returned to an IAH gate at 10:50 p.m.
A report of a possible emergency on the plane was reported around 9:06 p.m., according to archived emergency scanner traffic. A Skywest Airlines pilot who was on the runway at the time was the first to spot and report the fire, according to air traffic control audio posted online Tuesday.
Soon after the Skywest pilot's report, the United pilot declared an emergency and turned the plane around.
The FAA said it would investigate the incident.
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