Takeoffs and landings have resumed at Newark Liberty International Airport after a United flight bound for Houston made an emergency landing.
Flight 2098 departed New York LaGuardia Airport at 7:57AM this morning, bound for Houston Bush Intercontinental. Shortly after takeoff, it experienced “hydraulics problems” and was forced to make an emergency landing in Newark.
The aircraft, an Airbus A319 (N837UA), sustained damage upon landing, when both tires blew out. Passengers exited the aircraft via emergency slides and were bussed into the terminal. Minor injuries were sustained by a handful of passengers.
Arrivals and departures were halted at around 8:45 AM EDT and the airport remained closed for about an hour.
I am currently on a United flight and have a connection in Newark this afternoon. I heard about this story when I receved the following email from United halfway over the Atlantic:
Disabled Aircraft at Newark Liberty International Airport
We are experiencing significant delays today, June 29, because of a disabled aircraft on the runway at Newark Liberty International Airport. We’re working hard with the local airport authority to move the aircraft so we can resume regular operations, and hopefully this will not impact our flights tomorrow, June 30.
If your travel plans are flexible, you may want to consider flying on a different day or connecting in a different city. The good news is that we’ll waive all the change fees, so visit the United app or united.com to check out your options.
CONCLUSION
If you recall, this is the second Saturday diversion at Newark this month. The last one occurred two weeks ago (details here). Let’s hope this does not become a more frequent pattern. I’m thankful no one appears to be seriously injured.
> Read More: United 757 Skids Off Runway, Newark Closed
Oh Dear… At this point, you may as well fly Allegiant…
Or frontier
These commercial aircraft are not being maintained, as they should be. With Air Force One, there is always preventive maintenance which constantly takes place, long before problems arise. However, with commercial airlines, the bureaucratic big shots at the top (who receive bloated, inflated salaries), wait until problems occur, and then allegedly have them repaired. They really don’t want to spend an extra dime, regarding maintenance. More often than not, aircraft maintenance is farmed out to foreign countries, where FAA oversight is lax. When one gets into their own car, they know the maintenance history of their car; however, when one boards a commercial aircraft, passengers have no idea what maintenance, if any, has been performed. The airlines will not release that information to the public, even if an airliner is identified, by its tail number.
What nonsense. Please don’t sprout stupid conspiracy theories. There are stringent rules governing civil aviation.
What conspiracy theories are you referring to? Do you deny that the airlines farm maintenance out to foreign countries, such as El Salvador, where there is very little oversight by the FAA?
I was affected by the runway closure 2 weeks ago. PDX-EWR diverted to Harrisburg, ultimately 3 hours late into EWR but made the connection to TPA due to its 4 hour delay. Ironically I flew to TPA today, though via IAH. Hopefully you made it to your destination.
Looking at the few pics I’ve seen of today’s incident it’s great to see that several carry ons were rescued and evacuated down the chute. Grrrrr!