United flight lands with smoke, hydraulic leak in San Francisco

A United Airlines flight landed in San Francisco on Thursday with a hydraulic leak and other issues, the latest in a string of alarming malfunctions for the airline.

Flight 1816, originating from Dallas-Fort Worth and bound for San Francisco International Airport, landed safely after four hours of travel with 150 passengers and five crew members on board. Emergency vehicles stood by as a precaution as the passengers deplaned at the gate, according to a spokesperson for United.

“A small amount of smoke was observed around the landing gear,” they added.

However, they reassured, “This is routine and is often caused when hydraulic fluid comes in contact with brakes.”

Unlike the recent incidents involving Boeing aircraft, the plane involved in this incident was an Airbus A320.

United Airlines has faced multiple emergencies on recent flights to or from San Francisco.

Last Thursday, a United flight bound for Japan lost a wheel during takeoff at San Francisco International Airport, with the wheel landing in an airport employee parking lot.

Three days earlier, another San Franciscobound United flight from Hawaii experienced an engine failure before making an emergency landing at the airport. On the same day, a United flight departing from Houston had to make an emergency landing after flames engulfed one of its engines.

On Friday, a United jet flying from San Francisco to Mexico had to make an emergency landing in Los Angeles due to a problem with the plane’s hydraulic system. And on Monday, a United flight departing from Sydney, Australia, bound for San Francisco, was forced to turn back due to what airline officials described as a “maintenance issue.”

None of these incidents, which followed the midflight door panel blowout of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max plane on Jan. 5, resulted in injuries.