Laptop battery fire forces United Airlines flight to make emergency landing

A United Airlines flight made an emergency landing in California early Tuesday after an external battery pack caught fire mid-trip.

FlightAware shows that Flight UA2664 from San Diego International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport took off at 7:21 a.m. PST, only to be forced to turn back when the fire started 20 minutes later.

The San Diego Fire Department said that it responded to an onboard blaze at the San Diego airport caused by an external battery pack in the cabin, CBS8 reported.

Footage from the scene tweeted by reporter Neda Iranpour shows emergency vehicles circling the plane after it successfully returned to its original gate.

“Flight crew prevented the fire from spreading,” the SDFD wrote on Twitter around 8:45 local time.

“Two patients transported to hospital and more being [evaluated].”

Four patients were eventually transferred to UCSD Hillcrest with smoke inhalation, while two more declined to be admitted against medical advice, according to Newsweek.

United Airlines could not be immediately reached for a comment.