An engine on a Southwest Airlines flight headed from Houston to popular Mexican beach resort town Cancún caught flames shortly after takeoff Tuesday, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing—a frightening incident caught on camera by some passengers and people on the ground.
A Federal Aviation Administration sign hangs in the tower at John F. Kennedy International Airport ... [+]
The plane returned to Hobby Airport in Houston "safely and was taken out of service for review," Southwest Airlines told NBC News and multiple other outlets, adding that “a different aircraft continued the flight to Cancun last evening."
No injuries were reported from the incident.
Videos circulating online show Flight 307’s engine burst into flames midair: Footage from the ground shows the engine bursting to flames while video taken by passengers shows roaring flames could be seen through the passenger windows.
The plane was a Boeing 737, according to flight data tracker FlightAware.
Forbes has reached out to Southwest Airlines for comment.
“We felt like a little air pocket going up, and then I heard the boom,” one of the passengers, Jordan Kleinecke, told ABC News about the incident. “And then you start smelling the fuel and everything going on.”
Why the engine failure occurred. Forbes has reached out to the National Transportation Safety Board to ask whether and when an investigation might begin.
Tuesday night’s incident wasn’t the first risky incident in air travel in recent history—though accidents and injuries remain extremely rare. On Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board announced an investigation into a near collision between a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 and a Cessna Citation 560X business jet on the runway in San Diego. Just before 12 p.m. PT Friday, a San Diego International Airport air traffic controller directed the Cessna to land despite the fact that the Southwest Airlines flight on the ground had already been given permission to taxi to the runway in preparation for takeoff, according to a preliminary review by the FAA. The Cessna reportedly flew overhead the Southwest plane by only about 100 feet, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed source with knowledge of the matter. In February, during poor visibility conditions, a FedEx cargo plane flew within about 115 feet of a Southwest Boeing 737, Reuters reported.
In March, the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization COO Tim Arel said in an internal message obtained by Reuters, "there is no question that we are seeing too many close calls."
Southwest Airlines engine catches fire, prompting Cancun-bound flight's return to Houston (NBC News)
Southwest plane makes emergency landing after flames seen after takeoff (ABC News)
US agencies investigate close call between Southwest plane, Cessna (Reuters)