An American Airlines flight headed for Charlotte had to make an unexpected return to Las Vegas on Wednesday morning after passengers witnessed alarming smoke and flames coming from one of the engines shortly after takeoff.
“We Could Hear Lots of Booming Noises”
Things took a scary turn just after Flight 1665 lifted off from Harry Reid International Airport at 8:11 a.m. People on the ground quickly noticed smoke coming from the plane’s left engine.
A few passengers and bystanders began posting videos online.
“We could hear lots of booming noises, almost like a boombox. It sort of stopped us in our tracks to hear the noises,” explained Matthew Villasista, who was at the Las Vegas National Golf Club at the time of the incident, according to ABC News.
Mark Jackson, another witness who was located in a parking lot at the time, explained he heard a sound that resembled “large fireworks.”
“When we looked up and saw what was really happening, I was shocked and super sad thinking about how scared everyone on board must be,” the man further added.
“Those brave pilots are working under some heavy pressure. It just looked like it was dropping rapidly,” he further commented.
Meanwhile, a popular Vegas social media influencer jokingly commented that “all passengers survived and were given some Free Play”.
FAA Investigating “Engine Issue”
Less than ten minutes after takeoff, the plane was seen returning to the Las Vegas airport and landing safely at around 8:20 a.m local time. Thankfully, everyone on board was unharmed, and no injuries were reported, according to the FAA.
American Airlines’ maintenance team immediately began inspecting the Airbus A321, which carried 153 passengers and six crew members on board.
While video from the flight clearly showed flames coming from the engine, the airline said their team didn’t discover any signs of an actual fire having occurred midair.
“The aircraft taxied to the gate under its own power and customers deplaned normally,” American Airlines stated.
The flight company also acknowledged the crew’s “professionalism” and thanked the team working on assisting customers with reaching their destinations “as quickly as possible.”
The FAA labeled the event as an “engine issue” and is now working on running an official investigation to establish the precise reason behind the incident, before giving the aircraft the green light to conduct more flights.
As a result of the deadly midair collision in Washington, DC, at the start of the year, the FAA released a review of helicopter safety around the biggest US airports, including Las Vegas.