Passengers on a JetBlue flight were forced to evacuate their aircraft via emergency slides after an engine issue and smoke in the cockpit led to an emergency landing at Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday evening.
Flight 543, an Airbus A320 bound for Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, returned safely to Newark after the crew reported an engine problem shortly after take-off, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). After exiting the runway, the crew reported smoke in the cockpit and initiated an evacuation.
Passenger Alexandra Svokos told CBS New York that while the landing was smooth, the evacuation was chaotic. “They put down the slides, and we rushed out more or less in a very disorganised stampede, get out and jumped down the slides and got out and ran away from the plane,” she said. Some travellers were left distraught, with Svokos noting, “People were shaking and panicking, and people were crying.”
No injuries were immediately reported, according to local news site northjersey.com. The airport resumed normal operations by 7:07 p.m. local time. However, the FAA reported that outbound flights faced delays of at least 30 minutes on average, while inbound flights were delayed more than two hours.
JetBlue said in a statement that safety was its top priority and that it was focused on supporting affected customers and crew members, while co-operating with federal authorities to investigate the incident.
