LOS ANGELES — A United Airlines flight bound for New Jersey had to turn back and make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday after an engine fire was reported, authorities said.
The Boeing 787-9 aircraft, which was carrying 256 passengers and 12 crew members, was met by Los Angeles Fire Department officials at Runway 25 after it had just taken off for Newark about an hour earlier, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Flight 2127 took off from Los Angeles at 10:14 a.m. PT, but firefighters were alerted about a problem at 11:05, according to the newspaper. Fire department spokesperson Lyndsey Lantz said that the plane landed at 11:29 a.m. without incident, and passengers and crew members were evacuated from the aircraft, KCBS reported.
No injuries were reported.
United flight headed to Newark returns to LA airport for evacuation after reported fire https://t.co/jussQNyrVt pic.twitter.com/qCXByNQJa7
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) March 2, 2026
Video from the scene showed smoke pouring from the left engine of the aircraft while evacuation slides were used to evacuate passengers, according to KABC.
Firefighters did not confirm whether there was an active fire when the aircraft landed, Lantz told the Times.
Harry Gestetner, the founder and CEO of Orion Sleep, was a passenger aboard the plane and said the incident was “surreal,” KCBS reported.
“Sort of a surreal feeling to be sprinting away from a flaming plane on the tarmac at LAX,” he told the television station.
“It was crazy, we saw fire trucks and police cars everywhere,” another passenger, Francesca Nardelli, told KABC. “We didn’t know what was happening because there was no announcement. It was definitely chaotic and scary.”
Flights headed to Los Angeles International were delayed and one runway was temporarily closed, CNN reported, citing a statement from airport officials.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident, the news outlet reported.
© 2025 Cox Media Group
