A United Airlines flight was forced to declare an emergency and return to its airport of origin after fuel began leaking from the plane following its take-off, flight control audio has revealed.
On December 3, a Boeing 737 operated by the airline was flying from Newark, New Jersey, to Norfolk, Virginia, when the flight crew reported an issue with the plane. It safely returned to Newark Liberty International Airport, where it remained for roughly two days before resuming service.
Newsweek approached United Airlines via email for comment on Tuesday.
Flights declaring emergencies can be more common than people think; according to FlightRadar. An emergency can be declared for a whole host of different reasons—from onboard medical issues to problems with the aircraft—and many do not require immediate action on the ground, but are rather to alert flight control and airport first responders to a situation.
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In many cases, a flight will be diverted to a nearby airport or will return to its airport of origin. Flight control there will have to ensure that a runway is clear for an emergency landing.
According to flight control audio, the flight had departed Newark and had turned towards Staten Island, New York, when it requested a return to the airport at around 17,000 feet. It was told by an operator on the ground to descend to 12,000 feet and turn southwest. It then passed over Trenton, New Jersey, before being told to turn back towards the airport.
“We have indication that we’re getting a fuel leak on the left side,” one of the flight crew explained over the radio, confirming it was declaring an emergency. He said there were 77 people onboard and, at the time, it had 160 minutes’ worth of fuel.
The flight was told to descend to 8,000 feet and then 7,000 feet as it approached Newark, but the pilot told flight control they were not ready to commit to a landing. The plane then turned northwest.
The pilot was then told to either come in or fly 20 miles north of Newark, to which the flight crew responded that it would come in.
Asked if the fuel leak is big enough that “we might shut down the runway,” the flight crew said that it “appears to have stabilized now but it was fairly dramatic at the start.”
After looping around, the plane approached Newark Airport from the south and was able to land successfully on its longest runway.
It is not the first time a United Airlines flight has encountered an onboard issue this year. In June, a flight from St. Louis, Missouri to Denver, Colorado was forced to make an emergency landing after smoke filled the cockpit, while in February another had to return to San Diego airport after a laptop caught fire.
A 33-year-old Massachusetts man was arrested after attempting to open an emergency exit on a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles, California to Boston and attacking a flight attendant with a metal spoon. As the plane was descending to its destination, the man was restrained and it was able to land safely.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.