A United Airlines Airbus A319 operating a flight from Houston-George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to New York-La Guardia Airport (LGA) rejected its take-off and was subsequently evacuated after one of its engines failed. The flight, carrying 104 passengers and five crew members, safely stopped on the runway and there were no injuries reported as a result of the use of the emergency evacuation slides.
The flight in question, UA1382 on February 2, 2025, was being operated by one of United’s 81-strong fleet of Airbus A319-100s registered N837UA. Having been pushed back from its gate at 07:58, the flight headed out to runway 15R at Houston before being cleared for take-off at 08:14. According to the Aviation Herald, the aircraft had accelerated to around 115 knots (132 mph / 213 kph) when the crew reported the failure of the right-hand engine and elected to reject the take-off. The aircraft managed to slow down and stop safely on the remaining paved surface of the runway.
Shortly afterward, the crew reported that they had received a fire indication from the failed engine and requested that the airport fire and rescue services attend the aircraft. The crew subsequently reported that they were evacuating the aircraft, and the emergency slides were deployed. Airport operations additionally reported that they had heard a ‘pop’ sound emanating from the engine as the aircraft accelerated on its take-off run and subsequently carried out a runway inspection.
#WorldNews #BreakingNews | Video taken by a passenger on board United Airlines flight 1382 in Houston shows a fire under the plane’s wing and passengers standing on tarmac following their evacuation.
(Video Credit: Ashlyn Sharp | REUTERS Connect) pic.twitter.com/dNeTd5tcqf— Fiji One News (@FijiOneNews) February 2, 2025
In videos posted online by passengers onboard the flight, thick smoke is visible on the right side of the aircraft in the vicinity of the number two engine. Other passengers can be seen standing on the runway after they had evacuated the aircraft. They were eventually transferred by bus to the terminal where United arranged for a replacement aircraft (an Airbus A320 registered N427UA) to fly them to New York.
According to a statement issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) into the incident, “The crew of United Airlines Flight 1382 safely aborted its take-off from the Houston- George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Texas due to a reported engine issue around 08:35 local time on Sunday, February 2, 2025. Passengers deplaned on the runway and were bused to the terminal. The Airbus A319 was flying to LaGuardia Airport in New York. The FAA will investigate.”
Despite evidence to the contrary, the Houston Fire Department (HFD) confirmed that there was no ongoing fire to be extinguished once they had arrived at the aircraft. “HFD did not put out a fire on this incident,” the HFD stated on social media. “When our units arrived [at the aircraft], there was no fire to put out.”
According to ch-aviation, N837UA is 23.9 years old having first been delivered to United in April 2001. The aircraft is equipped with a pair of International Aero Engines V2500 powerplants and is configured to accommodate 126 passengers in a two-class layout with 12 in first class and 114 in economy class. At the time of writing, the airplane remains on the ground in Houston awaiting inspection and repair.
