A vacationer was astonished as they recorded the intense moment a plane’s engine emitted flames shortly after departing. Niklas Leonhardt, a 20-year-old tourist from Leipzig, Germany, captured the startling scene as a commercial airliner ascended into the sky just after taking off from Corfu’s runway. Video footage showed flashes of fire emanating from the plane as it gained altitude, accompanied by loud bangs.
Witnesses on the ground observed the fire coming from the right engine as the incident unfolded. Niklas shared, “We were near the end of the runway renting a car, giving us a clear view of the take-off.” He started filming when he noticed flames from the engine during lift-off. Concerned bystanders watched as authorities began clearing the area behind the runway as a precaution.
Due to the emergency, the pilot diverted the aircraft for an emergency landing at Aktion Airport in Preveza, approximately 45 minutes away. The flight was en route to Brno, Czech Republic, on August 28 when the engine trouble arose shortly after departure.
The Mirror reached out to Smartwings, the Czech airline operating the flight, for their comments on the incident. This follows a recent occurrence in Sweden where a plane experienced a loud explosion during take-off, prompting an emergency landing. The Norwegian flight departing for Paris from Stockholm’s Arlanda airport circled the city to prepare for the landing post-incident.
Debris was discovered on the runway as the plane circled the airport with 181 passengers on board. Norwegian press officials later confirmed that the plane would return to Arlanda due to a technical issue. The press officer noted that despite the unexpected turn of events, the pilot executed a safe landing without any complications.
