The United Airlines 767 twinjet was about to push back from the gate at Miami for a New Year’s Day flight to Chicago when bright flames, shooting from the starboard engine, illuminated the cabin.
A young man yelled, “Fire!” and yanked opened a nearby emergency exit. Other passengers followed.
By the time the captain determined that the flames had self-extinguished and any danger had passed, all but about a dozen of the 162 passengers had slid down emergency chutes.
That and other incidents raise concern as the Federal Aviation Administration is expected to rule soon on Boeing’s controversial proposal to permit the new 777 to fly very long routes.
Both 767 incidents involved the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine, the predecessor of the larger PW4084 that will be used on the first 777, scheduled to be delivered to United in May 1995.
Boeing argues that modern twinjets are so reliable that flights in which one of the two engines becomes inoperable are extremely rare.
