Terrifying footage shows flames coming from a FedEx plane after it took off and was forced to return to the runway.
The aircraft was seen in the air with flames coming from it above Newark Airport in the United States and it had to make a dramatic descent back to the tarmac.
Emergency services rushed to the scene with the fire raging in one of the engines. "Engine failure/fire FedEx 3609 at Newark on takeoff, returned to land," read a post on social media. After taking off at 7:58am the plane was forced to U-turn back to Newark for an emergency landing at 8:07am.
Bystanders are reported to have heard "explosions" at the major American airport that serves New York City, they described how the aircraft took off with the flames then visible and it was able to safely return to the airport.
Social media clips show the plane's right engine on fire while it was in the air and still large flames were coming from it on the ground. It has been reported that the fire was started by birds entering the engine. Emergency were also filmed by the plane on the tarmac and successfully putting out the fire.
"FedEx #FDX3609,Boeing 767, suffered a bird strike leading to right engine failure this morning at Newark Airport. The pilots declared an emergency and safely landed back just 9 minutes after takeoff. Kudos to the crew for their exceptional handling of a tough situation," read one post. Air traffic was briefly halted as a precaution, but operations have resumed, according to officials and there were no injuries.
It follows a United airlines flight which was forced to make an emergency landing at Newark airport in New Jersey last Tuesday. Flight 1544 took off from Newark airport just before 6am and was en route to the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. But the Boeing 757 turned around after an hour in the air and returned to Newark, with the pilots citing an unspecified mechanical problem, according to Port Authority officials.
The plane was carrying 176 passengers and six crew members. "United flight 1544 to Las Vegas returned to Newark Liberty International Airport to address a possible mechanical issue," the airline said in a statement. "The flight landed safely, and all passengers deplaned normally at the gate. We have arranged for a different aircraft to take our customers to Las Vegas this morning."
And last month swans forced a plane to make an emergency landing at Gatwick Airport after slamming so hard into its fuselage that they peppered it with holes. The Boeing 737 Max operated by Tui had climbed to about 1,000 feet en route to Cape Verde, when pilots issued a mayday distress call, siting a 185mph bird strike. The strike, which also cracked the aircraft's windscreen, forced the plane to the ground, where it was met with an escort on the runway.
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