Plane passengers were terrified when they could see flames shooting out of the engine mid-flight.
It’s not exactly the kind of thing you want to see when you hold your phone up to the window to capture that aesthetic ‘in the skies’ snap for your Instagram story.
And it’s also probably not the kind of video you want to watch if you’re scared of flying, but for those who aren’t, watch it here:
The Southwest Airlines aircraft was forced into an emergency landing after catching fire following takeoff.
The Boeing 737 plane was on its way from Houston, Texas, to Cancun in Mexico when flames appeared on the engine on Tuesday (15 August).
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According to a statement from the American carrier, the plane commenced the emergency landing ‘on Tuesday night after experiencing a mechanical issue shortly after takeoff’.
The video captured by a passenger was posted to X (formerly Twitter) with a Spanish caption.
Translated to English it reads: “Thanks to the pilots of Southwest Airlines Flight 307 Houston-Cancun for returning us to the ground after losing an engine.
"Thank you!!! I keep trying to understand."
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In the clip, you can see flames firing out of the engine below the wing, almost like something from an action movie.
Another pair of passengers, Jordan and Lynde Kleinecke recalled the scary situation to ABC News: “We felt like a little air pocket going up, and then I heard the boom.
“And then you start smelling the fuel and everthing going on.”
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Lynde added: “When the pilot came on and told us [that] we were going back [to the airport], he hardly finished that statement before he hung up the microphone. We were kind of like, 'What does that mean? What does that mean?'"
Andrew Sandino, a mechanical engineer, saw the unnerving scenes unfold from the ground and told NBC News: "I noticed big black plumes of smoke coming out the right engine and then it started shooting really big fireballs out and the plane was shifting back and forth, side to side, pretty heavily."
"I was thinking this plane may crash," he revealed. "If that engine just completely explodes and sends shrapnel everywhere, the plane is going to fizzle out and hit the ground."
And Southwest Airlines has since assured the plane ‘safely’ returned to William P. Hobby Airport as part of the landing.
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“The aircraft landed safely and was taken out of service for review," the airline added. "A different aircraft continued the flight to Cancun last evening, and we appreciate our customers’ patience and support."
Flight 307 was reportedly only in the air for 27 minutes in total according to data from Flight Aware before its passengers were safely back on the ground and moved to a new plane that was not on fire.
Tyla has reached out to Southwest Airlines for comment.
Jess Battison