Hundreds of passengers on a jet were terrified when the aircraft appeared to have caught fire mid-air. A Boeing passenger jet was soaring at about 36,000 feet high in Italy on Saturday when the flames were spotted. The Condor Airlines flight, according to TMZ, was 40 minutes into its journey to Düsseldorf, Germany, after departing Corfu, Greece.
The incident left travellers fearing the worst as flames were seen flashing near the right engine. Reports say among the witnesses’ accounts, one passenger admitted that they texted loved ones goodbye messages, convinced the end had come.
Another passenger shared that the lights on the Boeing 757 aircraft briefly went out, causing panic as they also noticed that the aircraft held its altitude instead of continuing upward. Bystanders on the ground who witnessed the jet felt alarmed and recorded sparks and bursts of flames coming from the aircraft.
The plane, carrying 273 passengers and 8 crew members, was forced to make an emergency landing in Italy. Following the incident, the jet underwent a technical inspection. A report shared that the incident stemmed from “a disturbance in the air flow supply to the engine”.
Although the situation looked dire, Condor Airlines later clarified that the engine was not actually on fire. According to reports, Condor explained that what passengers and witnesses saw was a combustion reaction that occurs in certain conditions, producing a visible flare near the engine.
Reports assured that no one aboard the flight was injured during the incident. In Condor Airlines’ statement, it apologised for the inconvenience and emphasised that the safety of passengers is its highest priority. The diversion caused a major delay, as the flight was scheduled to land in Düsseldorf at 9:35 p.m. local time but had to be cancelled for that day. The statement noted that another flight safely carried the passengers to Düsseldorf on Sunday.
