A Boeing 767 with 128 passengers on board had to make an emergency landing at Madrid's Barajas airport after developing engine and wheel issues during its take off.
The Air Canada jet was heading to Toronto when a loud bang was heard by passengers in the cabin as the aircraft started to climb way for its transatlantic flight.
Passenger Brock Mierzejewski told AP, “Obviously a lot of nervous tension while we were in the air, but the pilots did a terrific job landing the plane, - We are still in a little bit of shock but glad to be safe,”
Also on the flight was Aaron C who took to social media to say "so just at take-off there was a huge bang under my seat and then I saw smoke and flames from the left engine."
The Spanish air force rapidly dispatched an F18 fighter to intercept the stricken 767 and evaluate the damage sustained by the landing gear and engine. The moment captured by a number of passengers on the flight, after being told they would be going back to Madrid.
The aircraft circled for quite some time - nearly an hour, before making an emergency landing at the airport, at around 1913 local time to be met by the airports emergency vehicles.
F-18 up close! Pilot @spairforce checking out Boeing 767 @AirCanada #AC837 🇨🇦 The airplane made a succesful emergency landing in Madrid 🇪🇸 ✈️ #aviation #incident #emergency #planespotting #avgeek pic.twitter.com/0qHdsPBjdd— Menno Swart (@MennoSwart) February 4, 2020
Air Canada confirmed the Boeing 767-300 “experienced an engine issue shortly after takeoff" and also
a 'ruptured tyre' it said the plane was designed to operate on one engine and the pilots were trained for such
events.
There is much speculation as to the cause of the damage, which is currently under investigation. The airport was closed earlier in the day due to illegal drone activity around the airport, yet whilst it hasn't been completely ruled out it is unlikely a drone caused the damage to the Air Canada 767. More likely is a piece of debris on the runway damaged the tyre which then struck the engine and caused significant damage.
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