Engine fire turns Air India flight from Newark around

BEYOND BERGEN: An engine fire — and not a bird strike, as the Port Authority initially reported — forced a flight bound for India to return to Newark Airport this afternoon.

Photo Credit: *Cliffview Pilot File Photo*

Jerry DeMarco

07/14/2014 12:27 a.m.

The incident occurred soon after Mumbai-bound Air India Flight 144, with 313 passengers aboard, took off at 4:25 p.m., the authority’s Erica Dumas said.

The captain reported seeing flames shooting from a failed engine as he turned the Boeing 777-300 around. It landed on the tarmac less than a half-hour later.

Residents from Lyndhurst to Bernardsville reported seeing the jet flying low shortly after takeoff.

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