Three consecutive incidents on United under investigation

Three consecutive in-flight incidents on United Airlines flights over the weekend are under investigation by the FAA and by the airline itself. 

On Saturday, United Flight 96 from Newark to Berlin took off at 5:50 in the evening. Soon after takeoff one of its engines began spitting fire.  A report that a tire had blown, fueling the fire, was later dismissed by the FAA.  The flight returned safely to the airport after several hours circling Newark to burn fuel.

Then, United Flight 409 from Newark to Seattle on Sunday took off at 8:55 a.m. and returned to the airport after 20 minutes in flight because of what has been reported as an unusual smell or smoke in the cockpit, later reported as a possible air conditioning problem.

The third incident occured on United Flight 1124 out of George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston bound for Boston.  The flight returned to the airport "out of an abundance of caution" after problems with one of the Boeing 737’s engines.

United said they were conducting a "thorough review" of all incidents.

Meanwhile, the Internet has been abuzz with talk that the three incidents, one right after the other on the same airline, were due to the recent merge with Continental. 

ABC News Aviation consultant Steve Ganyard cited a "huge spike" in customer complaints since the merger.  "Now we’re seeing a rash of in-flight emergencies, the FAA is going to want to ask are they having the same problem integrating their maintenance."

The FAA issued the following statement on the incidents to TravelMole and other media yesterday evening:

"Commercial airlines operate 35,000 to 40,000 flights throughout the United States every day. Pilots are trained to make an emergency landing for a variety of different scenarios, including engine problems, hydraulic problems, fuel leaks, injured crew members and other issues. Because of the high safety standards in commercial aviation, U.S. commercial pilots make emergency landings to address those issues every day.

"Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors dedicated to oversee specific airlines review all commercial airline emergency landings as part of routine oversight. The FAA also increases inspector oversight during airline mergers. The FAA’s initial review of United’s emergency landings over the weekend has not identified any connection between the three incidents."