A United Express flight bound for Houston made a safe emergency landing Monday morning in Jackson, Mississippi, after its crew reported an engine problem mid-flight, officials said.
The plane, an Embraer ERJ-145 regional jet, landed safely at Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport around 11:50 a.m. local time, the FAA said. The agency said it will investigate the incident.
A spokesperson for CommuteAir said in a statement to NTD News that the crew “safely diverted to Jackson, MS to address an engine issue. The aircraft taxied to the gate under its own power, where passengers deplaned normally.”
The airline added that, “We are arranging an alternate aircraft to continue the flight to Houston and apologize to our passengers for this inconvenience.”
Uptick in Aircraft Engine Issues
The emergency landing follows a series of recent engine-related issues affecting U.S. carriers. On Sunday night, a Delta Air Lines flight bound for Atlanta was forced to return to São Paulo, Brazil, after one of its engines caught fire moments after takeoff.According to Delta, Flight 104—an Airbus A330-300 carrying 272 passengers and 14 crew members—suffered “a mechanical issue with the aircraft’s left engine.” Video captured from the tarmac showed flashes of light and debris falling from beneath the plane’s wing. The burning debris ignited a small brush fire along the runway before the plane landed safely back at São Paulo’s Guarulhos Airport.
“Delta 104, there is a fire on your wing,” one controller said, to which the pilot responded, “Affirmative, we need to come back.”
The plane landed safely minutes later and was met by Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting crews. No injuries were reported.
The same month, a Delta plane similarly bound for Atlanta was forced to return to Savannah, Georgia, after engine failure during takeoff. The mechanical issue also sparked a significant grass fire near the runway.