Video shows flames shooting from the engine of a Philippine Airlines Boeing 777 when it caught fire just minutes after takeoff

Advertisement
Video shows flames shooting from the engine of a Philippine Airlines Boeing 777 when it caught fire just minutes after takeoff

Advertisement
Flaming engine Boeing 777
  • Video shows the moment the engine of a Philippine Airlines Boeing 777 caught fire soon after takeoff from LAX on Thursday, forcing the plane into an emergency landing.
  • In a statement, Philippine Airlines said the flaming engine was caused by a "technical issue" in one of the engines.
  • All 342 passengers and 18 crew members were unharmed and disembarked safely after the landing.
  • Boeing is under scrutiny following the deadly crashes involving the 737 Max aircraft, which killed a combined 346 people and led to questions over the plane's design. 
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A Philippine Airlines Boeing 777 plane had to make an emergency landing after it caught fire shortly after takeoff on Thursday. 

Video footage of the incident posted to Twitter showed the plane's right engine spewing black smoke, before appearing to catch fire and shooting out flames. 

 

Flight PR113 took off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at 11.45 local time but had to make an emergency landing due to a "technical problem" in one of its engines shortly after take-off, according to a statement from Philippine Airlines. 

Advertisement

The airline said all 342 passengers and 18 crew members are safe and were able to disembark using regural airstairs. 

"We greatly appreciate the calmness and patience of our PR113 passengers, who cooperated well with our cabin crew during the flight and the emergency landing," said Philippine Airlines in the statement. 

Andrew Ames watched the incident and told Reuters: "It almost looked like backfire flames from a motorcycle or car." 

It is not immediately clear what the exact cause of the "technical problem" in the engine was.

GE Aviation, the company which makes the engine for the Boeing 777 said it was aware of the incident and is "working with the airline to determine the cause of the event and to promptly return the aircraft to service," according to Reuters. 

Advertisement

Boeing is under scrutiny following the deadly crashes involving the 737 Max aircraft, which killed a combined 346 people, led to questions over the plane's design, and left the aircraft grounded across the world.

Training standards, regulatory oversight and pilot experience have also been called into question following the scandal. 

Get the latest Boeing stock price here.

{{}}