A Detroit-bound United Airlines plane was re-routed back to Newark Liberty International Airport when crew members the smell of smoke was detected in the aircraft’s cabin shortly after take-off.
Flight 3439 departed the New Jersey airport at around 4:30pm on Wednesday, ABC 7 reported.
The plane was forced to turnaround once the smell was detected, landing back at Newark at approximately 5pm, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The plane deployed its chutes for passengers to exit and they were taken to the terminal on a bus. No injuries have been reported.
The Detroit-bound flight departed from Newark Liberty Airport at 4:30pm and landed back there about 30 minutes later
The airport posted an update online acknowledging the incident, advising passengers flights may be impacted.
‘Your flight may be affected due to PAPD activity at #EWR. Please contact your airline carrier for flight status,’ it said.
On average, flights were delayed about an hour as a result of the emergency landing, according to NorthJersey.com.
The New Jersey airport was closed for about an hour following the incident.
The Embraer E170 was flying to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport before it had to go back to Newark.
In a statement, the Port Authority wrote: ‘Passengers have deplaned and were transported to Terminal C.
‘The FAA temporarily held flight operations during that time. At 5:55pm, the airspace re-opened with flight activity resuming. United will provide further details.’
United Airlines flight 3439 had to be evacuated after a fire started in its cabin Wednesday evening (stock image)
The cause of the smoke odor has not been confirmed and the airline said they are trying to rebook passengers’ flights as quickly as possible.
A spokesperson from the flight’s operator, Republic Airways, wrote to DailyMail.com: ‘The flight landed safely and taxied without incident to a ramp area where a controlled, precautionary evacuation was conducted by the crew.
‘We apologize to all affected for the inconvenience but the safety of our passengers and crew will always be our highest priority and we will always act to uphold that commitment.’