Terrifying moment flames shoot out of the engine of a Southwest Airlines plane shortly after takeoff in Texas en route to Mexico, leaving fear-stricken passenger afraid ‘it’s going to go down’
- The Southwest Airlines flight flew from Texas to Cancun, Mexico this week
- Passenger Coale Kalisek said he saw “balls of fire” coming from the right engine
This is the terrifying moment when flames shoot out of an airplane’s engine just after takeoff.
The footage, captured Tuesday, shows flames coming out of the right engine of a Southwest Airlines plane traveling from Texas to Mexico.
It was climbing from William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas, when flames broke out and passengers panicked.
Passenger Coale Kalisek, who filmed the incident, said he thought, “Damn, it’s going to happen!” after I realized something wasn’t right.
This is the terrifying moment when flames shoot out of an airplane’s engine just after takeoff
He told the KHOU media outlet, “All I know is that it started swinging from side to side, and I thought, I’ve been on a lot of flights.
“I think I fly once or twice a month and I knew that wasn’t normal so I opened my window and I’m sitting next to the engine and you can see that whole engine coming out like fireballs.”
Mr. Kalisek, from San Antonio, was traveling to Cancun, Mexico with his girlfriend when it happened.
In a statement, Southwest Airlines said the flight was “returning to the airport” and was being checked for a “potential mechanical problem.”
A spokesperson says that another aircraft has been deployed to continue the flight to the Mexican holiday destination.
It added: “We appreciate our customers’ patience as we work to get them to their destination as quickly as possible.”
In Malaysia, a private jet plunged onto the tarmac in the town of Elmina in Shah Alam shortly before 3pm local time today after taking off from the resort island of Langkawi, killing all eight people on board and two unfortunate motorists.
A shocking video of the crash showed the plane bursting into flames immediately as it crashed into the concrete, while a clip of the aftermath saw the wreckage billowing black smoke after it left the road and landed on the nearby grass verge.