Derry London

WLTX-TV, Columbia, S.C.

A JetBlue airliner returned Thursday to the airport in Long Beach, Calif., after one of two engines had problems shortly after takeoff.

Flight 1416, whose original destination was Austin, Texas, landed at 9:30 a.m. PT, and passengers left the aircraft using emergency slides, said spokesman Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration.

A few passengers complained of medical problems and one was transported to a local hospital for evaluation, Chief Mike DuRee of the Long Beach Fire Department told the Long Beach (Calif.) Press Telegram.

According to the tracking website FlightAware, the Airbus A320 was in the air for less than 15 minutes, taking off at 9:17 a.m.

Actor Jackson Rathbone, best known for a role in the Twilight film series, took to Twitter and WhoSay to report the incident just after it happened.

Rathbone reported that the right engine exploded, the cabin filled with smoke, and the plane was able to remain under control, returning to the airport at Long Beach. Five crew members and 142 passengers were on the plane.

"I wasn't sure if we were going to plummet or make it back," Laura Andreasen, 57, told the Los Angeles Register. She was on the plane with her husband, pregnant daughter and disabled son on the way to Orlando for a Disney cruise.

About four hours after landing, many of the passengers were put on another JetBlue plane to Austin.

JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU) is looking into the cause of the plane's engine problems, according to spokesman Morgan Johnston.

After the markets closed, the airline, founded in 1999, announced that President Robin Hayes will become chief executive Feb. 16 when the president CEO's contract expires. Hayes, a former British Airways executive, has been president since last year; current CEO Dave Barger, who has led the company since 2007, will retire.