Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Plane engine spits flames immediately after take-off

‘I spun around to see the flames shooting out of the left engine’

Wednesday 16 October 2019 08:35 EDT
Comments
Plane engine spits out flames during flight bound for China

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A passenger plane bound for China had to abort its journey when flames started spitting from the engine shortly after take-off from Washington DC.

Air China flight 818 was flying from Washington Dulles Airport in the American capital to Beijing on 17 September when the drama unfolded.

Video of the Boeing 777 aircraft shows flames blasting from the engine as it gains height.

It returned to the airport just over an hour after take-off.

A witness told Viral Hog: "Upon locking up our Gulfstream following a flight from Las Vegas to DC, I heard a very loud bang.

‘'I spun around to see the flames shooting out of the left engine of the 777. Realising they were experiencing compressor stalls, I took out my phone and started videoing."

The flight eventually landed in the Chinese capital at 05.53 local time, over 12 hours late.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed to Associated Press that it had landed safely after reporting an engine fire, and that its pilot had been in contact with air traffic control at all times.

A spokeswoman for Air China said passengers were re-booked on other flights.

Last week, an Ethiopian Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after take-off when the engine caught fire.

The jet had just ascended from Dakar, Senegal, for Bamako in Mali when the pilot realised one of the plane engines was ablaze.

The Boeing 767 then returned immediately to Dakar.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in