American Airlines flight strikes birds as flames shoot from engine after take-off in South Carolina
Passengers watched in horror as flames erupted from the plane’s engine moments after take-off.
Terrifying footage has captured flames shooting from the engine of an American Airlines passenger jet after it struck birds moments after taking off from a South Carolina airport.
American Airlines flight 1760 was travelling from Myrtle Beach to Charlotte, North Carolina, on Monday when the Boeing 737 encountered trouble shortly after take-off, forcing the pilots to issue a Mayday call and turn the aircraft around.
There were 172 passengers on board the short-haul flight.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“Mayday, mayday, mayday. We’ve got an engine problem here,” the pilot told air traffic control shortly after take-off, according to recordings from LiveATC.net.
Another pilot who witnessed the incident reported seeing birds enter the aircraft’s engine.
“I saw he took up birds, it looked like, at least in the left side engine,” the pilot said.
Passenger Patrick Gotwalt captured dramatic footage from inside the aircraft showing bursts of flames appearing to shoot from the left engine beneath the wing.
Witness Lindsey Mackey, who was on the ground at a nearby beach, told CNN she heard several loud popping sounds before noticing orange flashes coming from the plane’s left wing.
Emergency crews began preparing for the aircraft’s return to Myrtle Beach as workers discovered bird remains scattered across the runway.
“We’ve got a lot of bird debris out here. We’re going to grab as many big pieces as we can,” workers said over the radio.
Despite the alarming scenes, the aircraft was able to return to Myrtle Beach and land safely.
“The aircraft landed safely and has been taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team,” American Airlines said in a statement.
“Our team worked to get customers on their way to Charlotte (CLT) on a replacement aircraft.
“We thank our team members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding.”
The US Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft landed at about 8.40am on Monday and confirmed it would investigate the incident.
No injuries were reported.
