A United Airlines flight landed safely last night in Newark, NJ, after a mechanical failure on takeoff caused sparks to fly off the plane. The event was even captured on video by a photographer on the ground.
The company says initial inspections of Flight 149, a Boeing 777-200 (N787UA), suggest a hydraulic pump failure is to blame.
Sparks on Departure
The video clearly shows the sparks and debris coming from the plane’s landing gear compartment.
The aircraft went into a holding patterns 24,000 ft over the Atlantic and burned off fuel for about 90 minutes. It then returned to land without incident.
The 256 passengers were put on another plane and departed for Sao Paulo, Brazil this morning.
The FAA is investigating.
