United Airlines Flight From Chicago To Seattle Aborts Take-Off Due To Airbus A320 Engine Fire

A United Airlines flight from Chicago to Seattle was forced to abort takeoff after one of its engines caught fire. The aircraft was reportedly still on the taxiway preparing to takeoff when its engine started smoking before it returned to the gate, with no injuries reported.

Engine fire on United A320

On Monday afternoon, the flight crew of United Airlines flight 2091 from Chicago O’Hare International (ORD) to Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) had to reject takeoff due to a problem with its left-hand engine, which was seen billowing thick smoke as the Airbus A320-200 prepared to depart. According to an AvHerald report, the tower at Chicago O’Hare spotted smoke coming from the engine, with the crew vacating the runway and shutting the engine down.

Smoke continued to emanate from the engine as the aircraft was towed to the gate, and the Chicago Fire Department and medical teams met the aircraft out of an abundance of caution. Simple Flying reached out to United and received the following statement,

“United flight 2091 from Chicago to Seattle was delayed prior to departure due to an issue with the engine, which our local ground crew and emergency responders immediately addressed. The plane was towed to the gate, passengers deplaned normally and no injuries were reported. We are working to make alternative travel arrangements for customers.”

All 148 passengers disembarked the plane safely and were put on a replacement flight which reached Seattle at a delay of around five and a half hours. All arrivals at Chicago O’Hare were briefly halted due to the incident, with several aircraft on approach forced to go around – in all, arrivals were suspended for around 45 minutes.

Aircraft remains grounded

The A320-200 involved in this incident is a 28-year-old airframe, registered as N432UA, delivered to United way back in May 1996. As per data from ch-aviation, the jet is powered by two IAE V2500 engines and has accumulated over 81,000 flight hours and 32,000 flight cycles as of December 2023.

The aircraft was involved in a collision with another United Boeing 737-900ER while being towed to the gate in San Francisco in August 2019. On that occasion, the A320’s right wing made contact with the 737’s left winglet, with the damage to the former aircraft reported as “substantial”.

United scrutiny continues

United has been under enhanced scrutiny by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after a series of safety incidents this year, including a high-profile runway excursion in Houston this March. After clarifying that United had not been cleared to launch new routes or induct new aircraft, the agency has said its scrutiny will continue.

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