Boeing plane bursts in flames only minutes after takeoff

The United Airlines' Boeing plane, which had its course plotted for Fort Myers, Florida, had one of its engines explode into flames, which forced it to make an emergency landing.

 United Airlines planes, including a Boeing 737 MAX 9 model, are pictured at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, U.S., March 18, 2019 (photo credit: REUTERS/LOREN ELLIOTT)
United Airlines planes, including a Boeing 737 MAX 9 model, are pictured at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, U.S., March 18, 2019
(photo credit: REUTERS/LOREN ELLIOTT)

A plane burst into flames minutes after its takeoff from Houston on Monday, multiple sources reported this week.

The United Airlines' Boeing plane, which had its course plotted for Fort Myers, Florida, had one of its engines explode into flames, which forced it to make an emergency landing back at its takeoff location of George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Texas.

Another incident involving a Boeing plane had its door panel blown off in January, according to a report by The Independent

The Storyful news agency also quoted a passenger on the plane who said that the incident only occurred 15 minutes into its journey. The entire flight was supposed to be two hours long.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we realized something happened outside," a crew member of the plane said through the intercom in a video that was published on multiple news sites. Also in the video documentation, bright orange sparks were shooting out from the plane's left wing.

An El Al Israel Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on its final approach to Newark Liberty International Airport. (credit: Wikimedia Commons)
An El Al Israel Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on its final approach to Newark Liberty International Airport. (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Incident under investigation

While the incident is still under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), United Airlines said that the flight returned to the Houston airport safely and that a new flight was arranged to take the passengers to Florida, The Independent quoted. 

The report also noted that the FAA had given Boeing last month 90 days to meet safety standards for its planes.

No one was injured in the plane incident this week, The New York Post reported.