United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX Engine Fire Incident at Newark Liberty International Airport: NTSB Preliminary Report

The United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently released a preliminary report recounting an incident at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) involving a United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX. The event occurred during taxi-in, when the aircraft’s engine experienced a fire.

The incident took place on June 28, 2023, as flight UA2376 was operating between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and EWR. The flight crew received an engine fire indicator on the left-hand side (number one) engine’s Engine Indicating and Crew Alerting System (EICAS). In response, the pilots promptly shut down the engine and discharged a single fire bottle, which successfully stopped the warning indication, according to the NTSB’s report.

Interestingly, there were no visible signs of smoke or fire from the No. 1 engine. Nevertheless, the aircraft was towed to the gate for further inspection. Upon arrival, maintenance personnel detected evidence of a fuel leak from the engine. Additionally, engineers found “heat damage and sooting” on the engine cases and external surfaces upon visually inspecting the CFM International LEAP 1-B engine after opening the thrust reverser doors.

The NTSB has retained the engine for more comprehensive examination to determine the exact cause of the incident.

It is noteworthy that after the incident, the Boeing 737 MAX-9, registered as N37516, resumed service on July 3, 2023, according to data from flightradar24.com. The aircraft successfully operated flight UA1556 from EWR to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU), Puerto Rico, and later flew to Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) on the same day.

In the following days, from July 3 to July 9, 2023, the aircraft completed a total of 18 flights, with two more flights scheduled for July 10, 2023, based on records from flightradar24.com. Boeing originally delivered the 737 MAX-9 on December 30, 2020, and it made its maiden flight on April 7, 2019, as per data from ch-aviation.com.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported among the five crew members and 179 passengers who were on board the 737 MAX-9 at the time of the incident, as highlighted in the NTSB’s preliminary report.