On Friday morning, a United Airlines commercial jet veered off the runway and onto the grass at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. This incident adds to a series of concerning events involving airlines, including one earlier this week when a tire fell from a United flight.
A United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX aircraft veered off the runway onto the grass upon exiting at George Bush Airport in Houston early Friday, as confirmed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
United Airlines stated that they will relocate the aircraft from the taxiway once it is feasible. The FAA announced that they will conduct an investigation into the incident.
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“All passengers have been bused to the terminal and are being assisted by our team with their onward connections and other needs. We are removing luggage from the aircraft and will work to reunite customers with their belongings as quickly as possible," United said. “We will work with the NTSB, FAA and Boeing to understand what happened.”
Footage captured after the landing depicted the plane tilted to one side, with one of its wings in close proximity to the ground.
The airport system confirmed that flights departing from and arriving at Bush Intercontinental proceeded without interruption.
The recent incident marks the third involving a United Boeing aircraft this week. On Friday, both Boeing and United shares experienced a 1% decrease.
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Just the day before, a United-operated Boeing 777-200, en route to Japan, experienced a tire loss shortly after departing from San Francisco. The flight was diverted to Los Angeles, where it safely landed with 249 passengers on board.
On Monday, a United Boeing 737 destined for Florida and departing from Houston had to return to the airport shortly after takeoff. The reason cited by the airline was the engine ingesting some plastic bubble wrap that was present on the airfield before departure.
Social media posts showed flames coming out of the engine.
In a separate development, the NTSB announced on Thursday that it is investigating an incident involving a Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight last month. The aircraft experienced "stuck" rudder pedals after landing on the runway.
