by Donald Wood
Last updated: 4:00 PM ET, Thu October 11, 2018
A United Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Florida Wednesday due to an engine failure.
According to FoxNews.com, United Flight 2397 was traveling from Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey when it was forced to turn back around 10 minutes after taking off.
One of the 79 passengers onboard the plane, Cliff Maloney, revealed there was a loud bang outside the window that sounded like "a gunshot or canon." He said the engine started sputtering and shut down, with the engine on the other wing running even louder to compensate.
The pilot informed passengers the plane would be forced to return to the Fort Myers airport, where it landed safely at around 12:30 p.m. local time. The flight was met by emergency personnel, who inspected the engine before allowing the passengers to deplane.
"Everyone on board took the time to thank the pilot as we were getting off," Maloney said. "He handled everything like a true professional."
"United flight 2397 from Fort Myers to Newark safely returned to the airport for a mechanical issue," a United spokesperson told Fox News. "We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience caused by this delay in their travels. We are working to get them to Newark as soon as possible."
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