HOUSTON, Texas – United Airlines closed out the week with three incidents and a federal agency launching a probe into an issue with one of their aircraft last month.
Two of the incidents involve airplanes landing or taking off at airports in Houston.
Starting with an engine fire, to a wheel falling off a plane and even a jet skidding off the runway.
All of the incidents involve one of United’s fleets of Boeing aircraft, putting even further scrutiny on the plane manufacturer that was already under a microscope.
The week started with sparks on Monday.
A United Airlines flight from Houston to Fort Myers, Florida had an engine catch fire midflight while over the Gulf of Mexico. The Boeing 737-900ER airplane returned to Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport without any further issues.
“United flight 1118 returned to Houston shortly after takeoff after flames were seen in the engine,” the company said in a statement. “The flight landed safely and passengers deplaned normally. Our investigation revealed that the engine had ingested litter (bubble wrap) that was on the airfield. A new aircraft took our customers to Fort Myers later that evening and the aircraft involved is back in service.”
Fast forward to Thursday in San Francisco. A United jet headed to Japan was forced to land at Los Angeles International Airport after losing a tire during takeoff.
“The last departure lost the wheel on departure. So we’re going to have to shut the runway down,” said air traffic controllers on the radio.
The tire from the Boeing 777-200 landed on parked cars below. No one was injured in this incident either.
“United flight 35 lost one tire after takeoff from San Francisco and landed safely at LAX,” a United spokesperson said. “Our team quickly arranged for a new aircraft to take customers to Osaka later that evening. We will work with customers as well as with the owners of the damaged vehicles in SFO to ensure their needs are addressed.”
Also on Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board announcing another probe into Boeing.
NTSB issues the preliminary report for its ongoing investigation of a Feb. 6 incident involving a rudder control event on a Boeing 737-8. Download the report PDF: https://t.co/Vt8667Ks0G
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) March 7, 2024
This time, they’re looking at “stuck rudder pedals” following an issue on a United jet landing at Newark Airport in New Jersey. The plan was traveling from the Bahamas and was landing when the issue occurred.
“We appreciate the NTSB’s work on this preliminary report and will continue to fully support their investigation,” a Boeing spokesperson told KPRC 2′s Gage Goulding on Friday. “We worked closely with United Airlines to diagnose the rudder response issue observed during two 737-8 flights in early February. With coordination with United, the issue was successfully resolved with the replacement of three parts and the airplane returned to service last month.”
The week ended with another incident involving one of United’s Boeing jets.
A plane landing at Bush Intercontinental on Friday morning skidded off the runway. The plane came to a rest, tilting to the left side with the nose gear sticking up in the air.
“After landing in rainy conditions, United 2477 exited the taxiway into a grassy area. All passengers were bused to the terminal and assisted by our team with their onward connections and other needs,” a United spokesperson said.
The string of incidents involving Boeing aircraft now puts an even bigger microscope on the plane builder.
“The bottom line is, they’ve been having some serious issues,” said aviation expert Pete Trabucco.
While the talk of the town has been a younger group of pilots trying to fill a shortage of airplane captains, Trabucco says the cockpit isn’t the only place scaping by to find staff.
“There’s also a widening gap between retiring aviation mechanics and those that are in the field,” he said. “In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says that we need to actually put 1,200 jobs together.”
Meanwhile, some travelers are looking to book a flight on any plane but a Boeing.
“When I go on a plane, I expect to get here safe,” said Reese Bryant, who flew on an Airbus to Houston. “I’m [going to] pay the extra $50 bucks more because I refuse to go on a plane that’s tearing apart in the air.”
While that might be a preference at this point, air travel is still by far the safest method of travel.
“It’s still the safest mode of transportation. That will never change,” Trabucco said.
KPRC2 asked for comment from the Federal Department of Transportation, but we did not receive a reply.