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Incident causes runway shutdown and plane to be grounded

BY NOAH COHEN

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

An engine cover fell off a JetBlue flight as it was taking off from Newark Liberty International Airport, forcing the plane to land and closing a runway at the airport Monday morning, officials said.

Flight 507 from Newark to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., returned to the airport after a report of an engine cowling cover coming off the plane shortly after takeoff around 6:15 a.m., according to officials.

Engine cowling covers and protects the engine from the elements while the engine is in operation, Bryan Baldwin, a JetBlue spokesman said in an e-mail.

The 134 people on board were scheduled to depart on a different aircraft at 11:15 a.m. and arrive at 2:15 p.m. The passengers will receive a refund on the cost of the round trip ticket and will be given a free round trip flight on JetBlue, Baldwin said.

Crews were called in to clean up debris from the flight, closing the airport's runway 22 for about an hour.

No injuries were reported and officials said no other flights were affected.

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