An Atlas Air Boeing 747 departing from Miami International Airport caught fire in mid-air.
Atlas Air, a major American cargo airline, is the world’s largest operator of the Boeing 747 aircraft, with a total fleet of 54 of this specific fleet type.
Footage of the plane on fire went viral on social media:
BREAKING
Passenger airplane catches fire mid air.
Reports are that this is Atlas Air Boeing 747-8 from Miami International Airport. pic.twitter.com/j9ORgZdYj3— Vox Populi (@vox_populi_nl) January 19, 2024
“Earlier on Thursday night, footage shows sparks and flames shooting out of Atlas Air flight 95, a Boeing 747-8 airliner during mid flight, after it departed from Miami International Airport around 10:46 pm,” Rawsalerts writes.
“The plane immediately circled back and landed at the Miami International Airport. The flight was en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico. At this time, no injuries have been reported.”
Earlier on Thursday night, footage shows sparks and flames shooting out of Atlas Air flight 95, a Boeing 747-8 airliner during mid flight, after it departed from… pic.twitter.com/2IM6Xa3R8n
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) January 19, 2024
BREAKING UPDATE:
NO CURRENT PICTURES FROM THE GROUND..
“Video emerges of Atlas Air Boeing 747-8 from Miami International Airport Catching fire mid air..… https://t.co/fBRIfnQw1F pic.twitter.com/8tU5kTbIoZ
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) January 19, 2024
The cargo plane reportedly had an ‘engine malfunction.’
Fox News reports:
A massive cargo plane was forced to make an emergency landing soon after departing from an airport in Miami as the aircraft suffered an “engine malfunction,” an airline official said.
Flight 5Y095, an Atlas Air Boeing 747-8 cargo plane, departed from Miami International Airport (MIA) en route to Puerto Rico on Thursday at approximately 10:11 p.m. ET. It soon began experiencing an engine malfunction, immediately turned back to MIA and landed safely within an hour, an Atlas Air spokesperson told Fox News.
“The crew followed all standard procedures and safely returned to MIA,” the statement read, noting safety is the company’s top priority. Atlas Air also said it will be conducting a thorough inspection to determine what caused the malfunction.
The plane was in the air for less than an hour. It is not immediately clear how many crew members were on board at the time.
Atlas Air flight 5Y95, a Boeing 747-8 (N859GT), suffered engine issues after takeoff from Miami International Airport, FL (MIA).
The flight returned to land back at MIA, 14 minutes after takeoff.pic.twitter.com/eR6tehzEDn— Aviation Safety Network (ASN) (@AviationSafety) January 19, 2024
NBC Miami obtained audio from the aircraft requesting access back to the airport.
Per NBC Miami:
NBC6 received the mayday calls made to air traffic control.
“Mayday, mayday…We have an engine fire,” the audio recording said. “Request access back to the airport. No, we’ll go ahead and land. We have five souls onboard.”
Atlas Air issued a statement after the plane landed confirming that Flight 5Y095, a cargo aircraft, landed safely after experiencing an engine malfunction soon after departure from MIA.
“The crew followed all standard procedures and safely returned to MIA,” the statement said. “At Atlas, safety is always our top priority and we will be conducting a thorough inspection to determine the cause.”
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