An airline passenger captured the terrifying mid-air moment when a piece of luggage slid from the plane’s hold and hit a propeller during a flight in Chile.
The Aerocord Airlines plane was flying across the Pacific Ocean from Chaitén to Puerto Montt in the southern region of Los Lagos last Thursday when the bag came loose.
Video of the incident showed the bag flying into the plane’s right propeller, temporarily halting the blades.
A passenger aboard an Aercord Airlines flight recorded the moment a bag hit the plane’s propeller, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing
The pilot was able to avoid disaster and land the plane, which had one crew member and 18 passengers on board, safely at Chaitén airport.
One of the passengers told Chilean television channel Canal 13 that they “felt a loud bang and then everything started shaking.”
Before the flight, the passengers spent four hours at the airport, where a take-off attempt was delayed because one of the plane’s doors did not close properly.
Shortly after the incident, Aerocord Airlines said in a statement that a bird struck the fuselage of the plane, “causing the cargo doors to detach.”
“The incident was reported to the relevant aviation authorities and after activating the respective protocols, the company decided to return to Chaitén,” the airline added.
Aerocord Airlines said in a statement that a bird struck the plane’s fuselage, “causing the cargo doors to detach”
However, the passenger who captured video of the incident offered a different explanation.
“As they were taking off, a suitcase fell out of the plane and hit the propellers, forcing them to make an emergency landing,” Luis Águila said.
‘The plane was full of passengers and the incident occurred because they left a boot door poorly closed. Fortunately, the pilot managed to keep the emergency under control and managed to land.’
The incident occurred less than a week after an unruly passenger tried to open the door of a Copa Airlines plane mid-flight.
Customers sprang into action and helped the crew subdue the man, who initially took a female flight attendant hostage with a plastic knife as the plane from Brasilia, Brazil, was scheduled to land in Panama City, Panama, on Monday.
The passenger was beaten and placed in plastic handcuffs, and the pilot was able to land the plane safely at Tocumen International Airport, where authorities arrested him.