There were 131 people aboard the Boeing 757 -- including 124 passengers, the Port Authority said.
“During taxiing of United flight 1579 from Newark to San Francisco, the tower notified the crew of what appeared to be flames from one of the engines," United Airlines spokesman Jonathan Guerin said late Tuesday.
"The crew immediately deployed the slides and evacuated the aircraft....," Guerin said. "We are working to get our customers to San Francisco as soon as possible.”
The evacuation preceded a 9:22 p.m. scheduled takeoff and kept the airport closed for more than an hour.
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