Australian airliner makes emergency landing after engine catches fire over Perth
A plane carrying 97 people has been forced to make an emergency landing in western Australia after one of its engines caught fire. Cobham Aviation Services says one of the plane’s four engines caught fire as it was climbing shortly after take-off from Perth Airport.
A plane carrying 97 people has been forced to make an emergency landing in western Australia after one of its engines caught fire.
Cobham Aviation Services says one of the plane’s four engines caught fire as it was climbing shortly after take-off from Perth Airport.
Watch: Caught on camera: passenger plane catches fire shortly after take-off
A video clip filmed by a passenger onboard showed sparks and flames flying out of the number two engine on the port side as the plane was flying over Perth, just minutes after taking off. Photos circulating online also showed that flames were clearly visible to eyewitnesses on the ground.
After the passengers quickly alerted the cabin crew, the pilots shut down the affected engine, Australian media reported.
The BAE-146 plane then turned around and landed safely. No one was hurt. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Passenger Jason Grimmett said he was sitting near the engine that caught fire.
“Fuel starting spewing out, caught alight - there was a bit of panic on board but the pilots were quite quick to react and cut fuel lines and then put it out,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “So we just turned around and came back in.”
Fuel starting spewing out, caught alight - there was a bit of panic on board but the pilots were quite quick to react and cut fuel lines
Perth serves as the hub for a multinational search effort for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which vanished March 8 on a trip from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing.
