An Atlas Air Boeing 747-8 cargo plane made an emergency landing at Miami International Airport Thursday evening after experiencing an engine malfunction shortly after its departure.
Unverified videos that circulated on the social media platform X showed flames and sparks shooting out of the aircraft’s left wing in midair. The aircraft landed safely at Miami International after an “engine malfunction” over South Florida. The Atlas Air flight had five crew members on board, and no injuries were reported.
An Atlas Air cargo plane was diverted back to Miami International Airport after an engine malfunction last night, per the airline. Miami resident Melanie Adaros told me she watched sparks and fire coming from a plane flying overhead “in disbelief.”
📷 @melableh pic.twitter.com/ThpHo6JCvu— Josie Harvey (@JosieHarvey_) January 19, 2024
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the matter, per a statement obtained by the Washington Examiner on Friday.
“Atlas Air Flight 95 returned safely to Miami International Airport around 10:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, Jan. 18, after the crew reported an engine failure,” an FAA spokesperson said. “The Boeing 747 was headed to Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico. The FAA will investigate.”
The aircraft was a freighter version of the 747-8 aircraft, the most advanced model of Boeing’s jumbo jet, according to data by FlightAware, which tracks flight information. The data showed the aircraft was in the air for less than an hour before returning to Miami International. The Boeing 747-8 has been with Atlas Air for eight years, according to Flightradar24.
“Mayday, mayday. … We have an engine fire. Request access back to the airport. No, we’ll go ahead and land. We have five souls onboard,” the pilot can be heard saying in calls made to air traffic control obtained by NBC Miami.
Atlas Air claims to be the “largest operator of Boeing 747 freighter aircraft and the only outsource provider of Boeing’s 747-8F,” according to its website.
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“The crew followed all standard procedures and safely returned to MIA,” Atlas Air spokeswoman Kristin Johnson said in a statement on Friday. “At Atlas, safety is always our top priority, and we will be conducting a thorough inspection to determine the cause.”
The latest incident is one of many problems Boeing has faced recently. The FAA is auditing the production of Boeing’s 737 Max 9 planes after a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines flight in midair over a week ago. Under an FAA order, dozens of Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft remain temporarily grounded for inspections.