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A U.S. Airways plane is pictured in this file photo.
(Reuters)
NEWARK — Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport were suspended briefly after a fire grounded a departing US Airways jet late this afternoon, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said.
No injuries were reported, and airport operations resumed at 5:54 p.m., about 10 minutes after the incident occurred, said Ron Marsico, a Port Authority spokesman.
The fire in or near an engine on US Airways Flight 687 was extinguished with water by Port Authority Police firefighters, Marsico said, and the jet taxied back to the the gate with all passengers and crew on board.
A US Airways spokeswoman, Liz Landau, said there were 150 passengers and five crew members aboard the Airbus A-320, which was bound for Charlotte, N.C. She said the airline was trying to book the passengers onto new flights.
Landau said the pilots triggered the plane's internal fire extinguishers to snuff out the blaze, which broke out in the plane's auxiliary power unit in the tail section.
The cause was under investigation, she said.