Southwest Airlines Plane Engine Catches Fire, Forced To Make Emergency Landing [Video]

The engine of a Southwest Airlines flight caught fire shortly after taking off from the Salt Lake City International Airport, Utah, forcing the plane to turn around and make an emergency landing on Monday.

The Southwest Airlines Flight 604, bound for Los Angeles International Airport, took off from the airport at 6:40 a.m. local time (8:40 a.m. EST), with 110 passengers onboard. Shortly after, the pilot realized the right engine had a “performance issue.”

After being in the air for about 30 minutes, the flight returned back to the airport. The landing was a smooth one and the emergency services on standby at the tarmac did not need to take any action, ABC News reported.

“The pilots of flight 604 operating today from Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) elected to return to SLC after receiving a cockpit indication of a performance issue with one of the aircraft engines,” said Southwest in a statement, Fox News reported. “Following established protocol and procedures, the pilots completed an uneventful landing.”

Al Oshiro, an aerospace engineer on the ground, shot a video of the plane while it was still in the air. The video shows flames spouting out from the right side of the plane. He told Mail Online that he "heard a sound so loud that a lot of people came out" because they initially thought the sound came from within the building.

“All of a sudden I started seeing these orange flames just coming off the right side of the engine,” Oshiro added.

Reddit user Ben McConkie also captured the malfunctioning plane on camera.

Records from Air Traffic Control show the pilot of the Boeing 737 did not panic after he discovered one of the engines of the aircraft was malfunctioning. “We have an engine malfunction right now. We'd like to go somewhere and hold,” the pilot calmly said. “We'll declare an emergency and we'll climb and maintain 10,000.”

However, the atmosphere inside plane was anything but calm. Traci Scarce, one of the passengers on the flight who was travelling with two of her daughters, said that there was a “lot of praying” and “holding hands” till the plane touched down safely back at the airport.

“There were sparks and flames coming from outside,” she said. “It sounded like there was a stalling engine.” As a result, she added, there were loud popping noises, the plane began to shake and the lights inside the cabin began to flicker.

All the passengers were removed from the plane and transported to a new flight before they resumed their journey to Los Angeles. The airlines apologized for any inconvenience caused to the passengers.

“We apologize for the inconvenience, but safety is always our top priority at Southwest Airlines,” said a spokesperson.

The incident comes after a United Airlines flight popped one of its tires while taking off from Newark, New Jersey. Regardless, the flight managed to land at the Portland International Airport in Oregon safely.