A Delta Airlines flight from Edinburgh, Scotland heading to John F Kennedy Airport in NYC made an emergency landing minutes after takeoff, after flames started shooting from the wing.
Flight DAL209, which started its departure at 10:50 am Friday, February 10, landed at the Prestwick Airport in Glasgow, Scotland just 30 minutes after takeoff after the pilots of the Boeing 767 declared an emergency.
One of the passengers took a video of the incident, and flames can be seen from the plane’s rear wing in what looked like an engine surge.
Passengers reportedly became anxious as some feared for their lives while crew members prepared for the landing.
Secondary school children and their teachers were on the flight, traveling to the US for a trip during their February break.
One of the passengers, Julie Nisbet, spoke to a news outlet after the scary incident, saying that the pilot announced that the plane was going to make an emergency landing. Soon after, the noise cut down, and it sounded as if the engines had been turned off.
There was an eerie silence and then a few gasps. At one point, when the engines were turned off, it felt as though they were gliding. Nisbet said she didn’t think they would make it down safely and was relieved when they did.
A BBC reporter was also on the plane, and according to her, there was a loud engine noise as they were taking off, which continued once they were in the air.
Laura Pettigrew, BBC News Journalist, said the pilot announced that they would be landing, and as soon as the plane touched down, firefighters and fire trucks rushed towards the plane.
The crew told everyone to leave all their belongings inside the plane and exit the aircraft as soon as possible. Pettigrew said most of the passengers were not panicking, but there was some confusion about what was happening.
Delta Airlines described the fire spitting from the engines as a “mechanical fault.”
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service officers got a call at around 11:23 am on Friday asking them to help the fire service crew at Prestwick Airport. Four fire engines responded to the scene, according to their statement.
Delta Airlines released a statement confirming that the flight from Edinburgh to New York had diverted to Prestwick Airport after experiencing a mechanical issue with the plane.
The airline apologized to everyone affected by the incident and said they worked as quickly as possible to get back in the air.
