Plane forced to make emergency landing after engine caught on fire
If you're even vaguely squeamish about flying, we recommend looking away now.
Shocking footage has shown a plane taking off from a runway, with its engine bursting into flames.
The Boeing 747-400 plane was taking off from Makassar, Indonesia, and was en route to Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Terra Avia on ops for Garuda Indonesia Boeing 747-400 (ER-BOS, built 2001) experienced a brief engine fire during take-off rotation from runway 21 at Makassar-Intl Airport(WAAA), Indonesia. The pilots of flight #GA1105 to Madinah continued the climb-out, entered a holding pattern… pic.twitter.com/6zAjxQunRe
— JACDEC (@JacdecNew) May 15, 2024
Luckily, none of the 18 crew members and 450 passengers were harmed during the incident, which took place on May 15.
JACDEC, which deals with breaking global aviation safety news on X (formerly known as Twitter), posted pictures and a video of what happened.
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And the footage is somewhat terrifying, as fire bursts from the plane seconds after take-off.
JACDEC said after the fire was reported, the pilots continued the ascent, before entering a holding pattern and safely returning to the airport around 90 minutes later.
According to Metro.co.uk, Garuda Indonesia president, Irfan Setiaputra said in a statement: "The captain discovered that one of the engines was on fire and immediately decided that further inspection was necessary to determine whether the engine was faulty.
"The decision was made immediately after the aircraft took off."
The airline also reportedly provided accommodation for the passengers on board when they returned to the Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport. Many were headed to Saudi Arabia to take part in the annual Hajj pilgrimage, with some taking alternative flights later in the day.
As you can probably imagine, the plane is now grounded and will undergo thorough safety checks before it's deemed fit to fly again.
It's not the first time something like this has happened to a Boeing plane.
In January, a Boeing 747 cargo plane had to make an emergency landing at Miami International Airport shortly after take-off. A witness said they saw sparks shooting from the plane, with the crew later reporting an engine failure.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Atlas Air Flight 95 returned safely to Miami Airport, and Atlas Air was set to conduct an investigation into what happened.
It all comes during a tricky period for Boeing - a few days ago the Justice Department said the company violated a settlement that let it avoid criminal prosecution after two deadly crashes involving its 737 Max aircraft.
“We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue," a Boeing spokesperson said in a statement.
Garuda Indonesia has been contacted for comment.