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United Airlines flight diverted after engine seen emitting 'sparks'

By Daniel Uria

Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A United Airlines flight was forced to divert to a different airport Monday when a passenger reported seeing flames coming from one of the engines.

Flight 366 from San Diego to Chicago diverted to Albuquerque after a mechanical issue with one of the engines, a United Airlines representative said in a statement to NBC News.

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"The flight landed safely and customers deplaned normally at the gate," the representative said. "Our maintenance team in Albuquerque will inspect the aircraft, and we've arranged for a different plane to get our customers to their destination." The representative said the plane departed.

Passenger Thomas Chorny documented the incident in a video on Twitter and told USA Today he felt the plane "getting bumpy." He looked out the window and saw what looked like "flames streaming from the engine," he wrote.

Chorny also tweeted that he had to show the flight crew the video after the plane landed "because they didn't know there were flames."

The airline said a mechanic reviewed the video and described what appeared to be emitting from the engine as "sparks."

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