An Atlas Air Boeing 747-8 cargo plane experienced an “engine malfunction,” caught fire, and was forced to make an emergency landing Thursday night after taking off from Miami International Airport.
A spokesperson for Atlas Air told Fox News that the Boeing 747 cargo plane had department Miami International Airport at roughly 10:11 p.m. and was heading toward the Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico when the aircraft experienced an “engine malfunction” that forced the cargo plane to quickly return to the airport.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue told Fox News that the Boeing 747 cargo plane was able to land safely and that no injuries were reported from the incident. Six units with the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to the incident at the Miami International Airport and “were on standby for landing,” according to the department.
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“The crew followed all standard procedures and safely returned to MIA,” Atlas Air told Fox News. The airline explained that the company’s main priority is safety and that an inspection will be completed to determine the cause of the engine malfunction.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told Fox News that the agency’s inspection of the aircraft resulted in the discovery of a “softball-sized hole” located above the plane’s secondary engine.
NBC 6 reported Friday that it had obtained the mayday calls that were made to air traffic control from the Boeing 747 aircraft during Thursday night’s incident.
“Mayday, mayday…We have an engine fire,” one of the pilots said in an audio recording. “Request access back to the airport. No, we’ll go ahead and land. We have five souls onboard.”
Thursday’s incident with the Boeing 747 comes as the FAA has faced significant backlash over the discovery of its “Diversity and Inclusion” hiring initiative, which aims to hire individuals with “severe intellectual” disabilities and other disabilities.
Leslie Bless, who posts under the name of “ProudArmyBrat” on social media, shared a video of Thursday night’s incident on X, formerly Twitter, stating, “This Atlas Air Boeing 747 that took off from Miami Intnl Airport, had to quickly do an emergency landing after it’s engine caught on fire. Upon inspection, officials found a ‘softball-sized’ hole above the engine which ignited it. DEI doesn’t work!”
