A Boeing 747-8 cargo plane operated by Atlas Air ignited in mid-air not long after taking off from Miami International Airport on Thursday.
After its departure towards San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Atlas Air aircraft encountered a fire in one of its engines. As a result, it had to turn back and perform an emergency landing at Miami International Airport.
NBC 6 News obtained the distress call made by the pilots to air traffic control.
In the voice recordings, the pilot told air traffic control, “Mayday, mayday…We have an engine fire.
The pilot continued, “Request access back to the airport. No, we’ll go ahead and land. We have five souls onboard.”
A Miami resident successfully captured the moment when the engine experienced a malfunction.
WATCH:
Atlas Air flight 95 departed from Miami International Airport Thursday night at 10:32pm ET and immediately circled back to land at MIA at 10:46pm, according to FlightAware, after video shows flames coming from the Boeing 747-8: https://t.co/ys1ZuSTLDf pic.twitter.com/eQOGNxTqiR
— Because Miami (@BecauseMiami) January 19, 2024
Per Newsweek:
A video on social media shows flames apparently coming from a Boeing plane shortly after takeoff.
The brief clip, captured by someone on the ground, shows flames trailing an Atlas Air flight minutes after it took off from Miami International Airport on Thursday night. The aircraft was a Boeing 747-8, according to FlightAware.
A Miami airport spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek that the cargo flight had landed safely at Miami airport just after 11 p.m.
An Atlas Air spokesperson said the aircraft had experienced an engine malfunction. “The crew followed all standard procedures and safely returned to [Miami International Airport],” the company said in a statement to Reuters.
Atlas Air Boeing 747 catches fire mid air after departing from Miami Airport tonight. Flight was forced to circled back and divert its original route to San Juan, Puerto Rico. pic.twitter.com/NAO7W12nf7
— Anthony Scott (@AnthonyScottTGP) January 19, 2024
In January, there was an incident where a door plug on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX suddenly blew out during a flight.
This event led many to speculate that Boeing’s DEI policies may be the underlying cause of their recent string of mishaps.
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