Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was among 179 passengers who slid down an airliner evacuation chute Wednesday at Dulles International Airport, near Washington. She was uninjured in the incident, triggered by apparent engine trouble prior to takeoff.

The 78-year-old Ginsburg, who has been battling pancreatic cancer, was taking the United Airlines flight to San Francisco — where she was scheduled to make a speaking appearance.

An airport spokesman said the pilot ordered the evacuation after he noticed a problem with the engines. The spokesman said three people suffered minor injuries while exiting the plane.

Another passenger wrote about the incident on her twitter feed. The woman wrote some passengers had seen smoke coming from the plane outside their window and alerted flight attendants. She said the flight attendants opened a rear plane door to see where the smoke was coming from and then quickly began ordering everyone to leave the plane.

She said the airline had rebooked the passengers on another plane leaving later.

A spokesman for United Airlines said the incident is under investigation.