Philippine Airlines jet ‘spewing fire bolts’ from its engine returns safely to LA airport
- A Boeing 777 bound for Manila reported a problem with the right engine after take-off
- It turned around and landed safely and all 342 passengers and 18 crew members were able to disembark
Flight 113, a Boeing 777 bound for Manila, reported a problem with the right engine after take-off. It turned around and landed at about noon, said Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration.
“All 342 passengers and 18 crew members are safe and were able to disembark from the aeroplane using regular air stairs,” Philippine Airlines said in a statement.
However, it wasn’t immediately clear when they might board other flights.
Passengers and people on the ground videotaped repeated blasts of flame coming from the right engine of the Boeing 777 minutes after take-off.
“I could see, like, flashes of light. I thought it was … just from the sunlight and then I just started hearing, like ‘boom, boom, boom’,” passenger Walter Baumann told KABC-TV. “And then I look out of the window and these balls of fire are just shooting out of the engine.”