Fire Erupts on Boeing 747 Minutes After Takeoff
In the latest instance of Boeing’s trouble in the air travel skies over America, a Boeing 747 cargo plane experienced an engine malfunction Thursday, forcing it to return to Miami moments after it took off.
No one was injured in the incident involving the 747-8, according to Reuters.
Atlas Air Flight 5Y095 was heading to San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the incident took place.
“We have an engine fire,” one of the plane crew said in a mayday call, disclosing that there were five people on board.
“Mayday, mayday … We have an engine fire,” the audio recording obtained by WTVJ-TV said. “Request access back to the airport. No, we’ll go ahead and land. We have five souls onboard.”
Reuters reported the crew member making the call said the incident involved engine two and took place “on the climb out” of the airport.
A video posted to X showed a plane trailing fire that the poster said was the aircraft involved. That claim could not be verified.
Footage shows a plane appearing to have a some sort of fire with trailing sparks while flying above Miami! ✈️😳| #ONLYinDADE
*🗞️The airplane has reportedly
landed safely at MIA 🙏 pic.twitter.com/PCZZftf798— ONLY in DADE (@ONLYinDADE) January 19, 2024
“The crew followed all standard procedures and safely returned to MIA,” Atlas Air, the company that owns the plane, said.
Data from the website FlightAware showed that the plane took off at 10:32 p.m. and landed at 10:46 p.m.
Boeing airplanes have been in the news for the past few weeks following some issues with its 737 Max model, according to The New York Times.
In late December, Boeing advised airlines to check for a loose bolt in the rudder control system of its 737 Max models. One airline had found the bolt missing during maintenance.
Last week, a Boeing 737-800 being flown by All Nippon Airways had to return to the airport from which it took off after a crack was found in the cockpit windshield, according to Fox Business.
The crack was in the outer layer of the four layers of the windows around the cockpit.
It is time to re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks. The grounding of the Boeing 737-9 MAX and the multiple production-related issues identified in recent years require us to look at every option to reduce risk. https://t.co/Lo0GpVFVjN
— FAA Mike Whitaker (@FAA_Mike) January 12, 2024
In early January, a panel blew off a 737 Max 9 airplane operated by Alaska Airlines.
All 171 737 Max 9 planes were then grounded until they all passed inspection. The inspection process is ongoing.
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