5 hurt when engine on SF-bound plane catches fire before takeoff from New Jersey An engine on a United Airlines plane at Newark Liberty International Airport caught fire before it could take off to San Francisco Tuesday night, briefly shutting down the airport, according to airport officials. Five passengers sustained minor injuries while evacuating, the airport announced on Twitter. Passengers on United Airlines flight 1579 took to social media to describe their evacuation via the inflatable emergency slides after one of the plane’s engines caught fire. According to passenger accounts and videos, the engine fire was not apparent inside the cabin — the in-flight entertainment system rebooted, then passengers were told to get off the plane, and passengers used the slides on the side of the plane opposite the engine fire to evacuate to the tarmac. In a recording of air traffic controllers, one can be heard saying there is an “engine issue” with the flight, and another later says You hear that?