An American Airlines plane with 173 passengers on board caught fire minutes after takeoff from Columbus, United States, on Sunday after a collision with birds.
A video uploaded to social media showed flames coming from the engine of an American Airlines plane after a bird hit the engine shortly after it took off from the airport in Columbus, Ohio pic.twitter.com/l7DvZtSZ46
– Reuters (@Reuters) April 24, 2023
The Boeing 737-800, en route to the city of Phoenix, was forced to turn around to land safely at Columbus Airport, according to an American Airlines statement about the incident recorded at 8 a.m. local time on Sunday (1 : 00 in Lisbon).
The flight landed normally and safely. The aircraft has been taken out of service for maintenance.
American Airlines Boeing 737-800 (N972NN, built 2015) returned safely to land at Columbus-Intl AP (KCMH), OH after flames and smoke billowed from the right engine. flight #AA1958 to Phoenix landed back on runway 28L 25 minutes after takeoff. No one was injured. @Cbus4Life… pic.twitter.com/YsAxsJ3D1O
– JACDEC (@JacdecNew) April 23, 2023
The fear in the air was captured by a camera, with the flames clearly visible in one of the aircraft’s engines, something confirmed by the pilot in communication with the control tower. “We lost engine number two to a high-vibration bird strike.”
Speaking to US television station NBC News, a passenger said she heard “people crying” on the plane as soon as they realized the engine had caught fire. “My heart broke. I just wanted us to be okay,” he added.
Correction to our earlier tweet: the plane experienced mechanical problems, not an engine fire.
Thank you to our emergency services for their quick response. https://t.co/RcLblLC0PR
– John Glenn International Airport (@columbusairport) April 23, 2023
Source: DN
