Sparks Fly From United Flight Before Emergency Landing at Newark Airport

Sept. 23, 2022

A flight that took off from Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday night had to return to New Jersey after sparks flew from the aircraft, officials said.

By Jeff Goldman

Source nj.com (TNS)

A flight that took off from Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday night had to return to New Jersey after sparks flew from the aircraft, officials said.

Video shows a shower of sparks from United Airlines 149 flight shortly after it departed Newark. The flight took off at 11:24 p.m. bound for Sao Paulo, Brazil, according to FlightAware.com.

The plane remained in the air, circling over the ocean to burn fuel before landing safely back in Newark at about 1 a.m., United Airlines said.

None of the 256 passengers were injured.

United said a post-flight inspection revealed the Boeing 777 had a hydraulic pump issue.

A different aircraft is expected to depart from Newark for Sao Paulo at 2 p.m. Thursday.

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Jeff Goldman may be reached at [email protected].