SAN FRANCISCO- United Airlines (UA) Boeing 777 Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) caught fire during pushback at San Francisco Airport (SFO), on Wednesday (November 6, 2024).
The aircraft was scheduled to operate the transcontinental flight from San Francisco to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD).
United Boeing 777 APU Fire
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing report, United aircraft during pushback from terminal 2, gate 6 experienced a fire in the APU.
For those who are not aware of APU, it is actually a small jet engine located in the tail or empennage section of an aircraft. It is used to start main engines and also act as backup in case of engine failure.
After this, the passengers were disembarked from the aircraft and after fixing the issue passengers reembarked on 777. Luckily no injuries were reported on board or on the ground.
According to FlightRadar24 data, United flight UA534 was scheduled to depart from SFO at 8:30 AM local time. However, due to the incident, the flight was delayed by two hours and 37 minutes.
The flight landed safely in Chicago after being airborne at around 4:44 PM local time.
The aircraft involved in the incident is a Boeing 777-200, registered as N781UA. Further, it is a 28.2-year-old aircraft and is powered by Pratt and Whitney PW4000 engines.
We reached out to United Airlines and Spokesperson Erin told us that, “United Flight 534 returned to the gate to address an issue with a generator. We fixed it and the flight continued to Chicago.”
Similar Incident
In September 2024, Emirates flight EK547 from Chennai International Airport (MAA) to Dubai International Airport (DXB) was delayed following reports of smoke from the aircraft’s Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) while on the ground.
The incident, which occurred during nighttime refueling procedures, caused concern among the 280 passengers onboard and led to a temporary panic at the airport.
The flight crew immediately notified airport authorities upon detecting smoke, prompting a swift response from technical experts and the arrival of fire tenders as a precautionary measure. According to airport officials, the smoke ceased within approximately 10 minutes, though the exact cause was not disclosed.
Initially scheduled for a 10:00 PM departure, the Boeing 777-300ER, registered as A6-ECZ and powered by GE90 engines, departed at 12:30 AM IST after a thorough inspection. The 14.7-year-old aircraft subsequently landed safely in Dubai at around 2:30 AM local time.
Feature Image by Clément Alloing | Flickr
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