The flight was scheduled to depart at 11 a.m. from Hobby to Los Cabos International Airport in San José del Cabo, Mexico.
HOUSTON — Passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight were evacuated via slides after landing at the William P. Hobby Airport on Thursday, a Houston Airports spokesperson confirmed to KHOU 11.
Houston Airports said the flight landed safely at the airport, and passengers exited the plane using slides on the taxiway. In a statement, Southwest said there were 134 passengers on board.
The flight was scheduled to depart at 11 a.m. from Hobby to Los Cabos International Airport in San José del Cabo, Mexico, according to FlightAware.
According to traffic control audio obtained via liveatc.net, the pilot declared an emergency and said they lost an engine.
The runway was shut down while the plane returned to the airport.
Houston Fire Department officials said they responded to Hobby after getting reports of an engine fire. Their airport firefighters were ready when the plane landed and were able to put the fire out. It also caused a small grass fire near the runway that they were able to put out, too.
The plane was evacuated and the passengers were escorted back to the airport.
There were no reports of injuries.
Southwest Airlines issued this statement:
“Southwest Airlines Flight 3006 landed safely at William P. Houston Hobby Airport this morning after returning due to a reported engine issue. The Crew followed procedures and assisted all 134 passengers in evacuating the aircraft. Southwest is working to accommodate its Customers to their final destination of Cabo San Lucas/Los Cabos, Mexico. We appreciate the professionalism of our Flight Crew in responding to this situation. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.”