On the morning of June 29th United flight 2098 heading from New York's La Guardia airport to Houston had to make an emergency landing at Newark Liberty Airport. According to the Aviation Herald, the crew of the Airbus A319-100 (registration N837UA) had to declare an emergency regarding hydraulic issues. Two tires blew upon landing and the airport was shut down. Unrelated and entirely coincidental, this is the second shutdown at Newark in two weeks.

Flight UA2098

According to the FAA, after the flight made its emergency landing, passengers on the flight made their exit via emergency slides. This is the official statement made by the FAA:

“United 2098, an Airbus A319, landed on Runway 22L at Newark Liberty International Airport today at 8:46 a.m. The crew reported a brake problem. The two left main tires blew when landing. Runway 22L remains closed at this time. Passengers were deplaned via slides. The flight departed LaGuardia Airport en route to Houston. The FAA will investigate. Contact the airline for passenger information.”

The A319 had 128 passengers and five crew onboard and, thankfully, no injuries were reported as a result of the incident. Below you can see the flight path of the aircraft as it leaves LGA and then makes a diversion to EWR.

United flight 2098's flight path as it makes an emergency landing at Newark after departing La Guardia. Photo: FlightRadar24.com

One passenger is suggesting that there may have been a flat tire on takeoff which resulted in smoke in the wheel well. Here is the source tweet about the incident from the passenger:

For the passengers of UA2098, they were somewhat lucky as their emergency landing had them at a main United hub. As a result, they were able to board another United A319 (registration N809UA) and continue their journey to Houston after much delay.

Twice in two weeks

News of another Newark airport shutdown is especially unwelcome as this is the second time in as many weeks this has taken place. On June 15th UA627 from Denver to Newark made a particularly hard landing. As a result, the Boeing 757's fuselage and airframe had extensive damage. Similar to this most recent incident, tires were blown out as well.

Following this, flights were diverted away from Newark as it was shutdown. However, it re-opened roughly two hours later. It's no wonder why John Murray (above) said emergency response teams were "top-notch" - they're certainly getting enough practice with these scenarios.

About Newark Liberty Airport

According to World Atlas, Newark airport is America's 14th busiest. Photo: Flickr user formulanone

Serving New Jersey but, more significantly, New York City, Newark Liberty Airport (EWR) is one of the top 15 busiest airports in the United States, according to Where Traveler. A United Airlines hub, EWR is one of three main New York City airports. The two others are La Guardia (LGA) and New York John F Kennedy (JFK).

With a size of over 8.5 million people, New York City is the largest city in the country by population size.