An engine caught fire on a USAir jetliner just before departure for Boston, forcing passengers of the northeast shuttle to evacuate by chute and closing La Guardia Airport for about 90 minutes Tuesday morning.
None of the 44 passengers or seven crew members aboard Flight 1170, a Boeing 727, was injured in the 6:45 a.m. mishap, said Paul Laude, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.