Video recorded by a passenger early Thursday morning showed sparks coming from one of the jet's wings moments after takeoff.
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The passenger, Gabrielle Guzy, said it appeared a fire was coming from the engine.
"The engine, it shot like 10 times, and I got about six of them on video with flames, and it sounded like gunshots, and everyone just kind of freaked out," she said. "It wasn't like a mass panic. Everyone just kind of was shocked, just looking around like does anybody know what just happened?"
United said the plane experienced a mechanical issue.
"I didn't know what was happening," Guzy said. "My sister said she thought it was lights, but I knew it was fire from the engine. I kept reassuring myself we'd be OK because we had only been in the air for a minute."
An Orange County, California, resident who was on the flight and returning from Tel Aviv said he thought the worst.
"It was a very normal climb out, and we've been on flights hundreds of times, but right as (the pilot) was starting to seem like pull power back a little bit, there were four or five of the loudest bangs I had ever heard," the man said. "We just came from the Middle East, so you're thinking, oh man, is this an engine problem, is it a missile? Everything flashes through your mind."
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He added that some passengers sitting near the engine who may have been able to see the apparent flames were screaming.
The airline released the following statement:
United 1871 from Newark, New Jersey to Los Angeles returned to Newark due to a mechanical issue. The flight landed safely and passengers deplaned normally. We are working on changing aircraft to get our customers to their destination as soon as possible.
Passengers were re-booked on a later flight, arriving in Los Angeles around 5 a.m. PST.