An Atlas Air Boeing 747-8 cargo plane encountered an engine malfunction shortly after takeoff, prompting an emergency landing at Miami International Airport (MIA).
What Happened: The incident occurred on Thursday, as the aircraft was en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Miami, reported Reuters on Friday. The plane’s left-wing engine reportedly caught fire, as seen in unverified social media videos. The crew, however, managed to land the plane safely, and no injuries were reported.
As per multi-channel recordings of conversations between the air traffic control and the plane available on liveatc.net, the pilot made a Mayday call at around 03:33 GMT and requested to return to the airport.
“We have an engine fire,” one of the plane crew said, adding that five people were on board at the time of the incident.
Atlas Air has announced that it will conduct a thorough inspection to determine the cause of the malfunction. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing BA have not commented on the incident.
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The aircraft in question is an eight-year-old Boeing 747-8, powered by four General Electric GEnx engines.
Why It Matters: This incident comes amid a series of high-profile aviation accidents. Just this year, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet experienced a cabin panel blowout, temporarily leading the FAA to ground 171 jets for safety checks.
These incidents have raised concerns about aviation safety. Two of Boeing’s biggest customers, including Alaska Air Gr ALK and AerCap Holdings AER, have called for increased safety oversight at the company’s production facilities.
Image by Rene Dominguez via Shutterstock
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