diff --git a/src/event/ngx_event_pipe.c b/src/event/ngx_event_pipe.c
index 5ce59ae09..981646792 100644
--- a/src/event/ngx_event_pipe.c
+++ b/src/event/ngx_event_pipe.c
@@ -300,7 +300,7 @@ ngx_event_pipe_read_upstream(ngx_event_pipe_t *p)
 
             if (n == NGX_ERROR) {
                 p->upstream_error = 1;
-                return NGX_ERROR;
+                break;
             }
 
             if (n == NGX_AGAIN) {