Engine shuts down on United 737 jet as it descends into Houston with passengers reporting seeing 'flames' and 'hearing bangs'


The United Airlines flight was descending into Houston from New Jersey when one of its engines developed problems 

Passengers reported hearing a bang and seeing a flash of light and flames 

The Federal Aviation Administration said there was no evidence of fire or smoke

The jet involved was a Boeing 737-900 - not the same model as the Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 plane that crashed on Sunday

The engine of a Boeing 737-900 shut down late Sunday on a United Airlines flight as it was making its descent into Houston, Texas.

Flight 1168 was carrying 174 passengers and six crew members when engine trouble began as the plane neared George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. 
The Boeing 737-900 was traveling from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. 
Passenger Chris Morrison told KHOU 11 that he was near the left side wing when the plane started vibrating.

'I saw a flash of light outside the window. I was sitting right on the wing where the engine had the issue,' Morrison said.  
Another passenger said he saw flames coming from the engine.  
The plane landed safely, with emergency crews responding.

A Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman, Lynn Lunsford, said there was no evidence of fire or smoke. 
Lunsford added that crews were taking a closer look at the plane Monday.
Some people suffered minor injuries while evacuating the plane, according to United spokeswoman Rachael Rivas. 
The cause of the engine failure is as yet unknown.

The jet involved was a Boeing 737-900, not the same model as the Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 plane that fatally crashed on Sunday.
The Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max 8 came down minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa for Nairobi, killing 157 people.
Sunday's fatal crash comes just months after another 737 Max 8 crashed in Indonesia killing 189 people.  

Indonesia and China have now grounded all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, while Ethiopian Airlines and Cayman Airways are doing the same in the wake of the tragedy.
Boeing announced on Monday it would delay the launch of its new 777X jetliner.
Shares in Boeing are set to see $21 billion wiped off their value after stocks fell 12 per cent during early trading Monday.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6795477/Engine-shuts-United-737-jet-descends-Houston.html

They need to pull all models of this plane until further notice. I'm also going to start checking certain plane models when I fly

Time to start asking for the exact plane number and model before buying a ticket

Their stocks must be descending at this rate!

Critical evaluation need to be carry out on the fleet! Human life is more important than company’s profit.

DanDeeBoss:
Maybe or just maybe you should get a parachute before boarding..

Joke aside I’ll start looking out for parachute. Anytime I fly, I deposit it in my bag.

DanDeeBoss:
Maybe or just maybe you should get a parachute before boarding..

If you can get out of the plane in time before it crashes or is engulfed in flames. And even then, if you end up landing in water you’ll probably die from hypothermia. It’s better than nothing though, also try to sit as close to the emergency exits if you can