On October 24th a United Airlines flight operated by Republic Airways suffered an engine failure on a flight between Houston Intercontinental and Pittsburgh. The flight, UA3507, was an Embraer aircraft - also known as an E170. Upon losing power from one engine, the aircraft diverted to the airport in Nashville. It landed safely without incident.
The incident
According to The Aviation Herald, the flight with 69 people on board, had lost one engine and the other was providing only minimal power. As the aircraft neared the Nashville aerodrome, it now had its right-hand engine up and providing power, while the left-hand engine was still down. It was in this condition that the aircraft made a safe landing.
Immediately after the safe landing, the airport resumed its departures and arrivals. The crew subsequently requested that emergency services check their left engine. The Aviation Herald reports that emergency services reported seeing no damage and no smoke.
We have contacted Republic Airways to get an official statement and find out more about the flight and what happened to the passengers after the incident. The following is their response:
Our flight 3507, operating as United Express, experienced an engine shutdown during flight. In accordance with our standard operating procedures in such situations, the flight diverted to the nearest available airport - Nashville - where it landed without incident. Our passengers were transferred to a replacement aircraft to complete their travels. We apologize to everyone inconvenienced by this delay.
About the aircraft
The aircraft involved was an Embraer E170 operated by Republic Airways on behalf of United Airlines. The aircraft had registration N632RW - which according to AirFleets has been with Republic Airways since 2016. Airfleets reports that the aircraft was with Shuttle America prior to this - from 2005-2016. And from 2004-2005 flew with Chautauqua Airlines.
According to both Airfleets and the Republic Airways website, the airline operates an all-Embraer E170/175 fleet. In fact, Airfleet reports that the airline operates 64 E170s and 127 E175s. The airline website, however, shows that it operates over 200 E170/175 jets.
This is what Republic Airways has to say about its jets:
"The aircraft’s fly-by-wire technology helps reduce pilot workload, improves aircraft performance, simplifies systems architecture and minimizes weight and maintenance...Each aircraft is equipped with two General Electric CF34 engines. These engines are designed for efficiency – CO, UHC, NOx and smoke emission margins range from 26% to an impressive 98% below ICAO Annex (Volume II) CAEP/6 limits for the E-170/175."
More about Republic Airways
Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Republic Airways operates small, regional flights for all three major US airlines. According to Wikipedia, this includes services for American Eagle, Delta Connection, and United Express. The regional carrier also had a deal with Frontier Airlines from 2007 to 2018. Under the agreement, Republic operated 17 Embraer 170 aircraft for Frontier Airlines.
Combined, the airline's mission and vision state:
"With the BEST People, Products and Performance we will be America’s regional airline of choice...Together we provide a safe, clean and reliable flying experience."