Passengers sent frantic texts to their loved ones after the plane they boarded burst into flames.
People travelling from Corfu, Greece, to Düsseldorf, Germany, experienced something that only some survive.
They were in the air on a Condor Airlines flight as it was forced to make an emergency landing in Italy after those on the ground could see flames.
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According to WDR, the Boeing 757 carrying 273 passengers and eight crew members began to experience turbine airflow disruption at an altitude of around 36,000 feet on Saturday, 17 August.
This led to the engine appearing to burst into flames shortly after takeoff, and the fear led one passenger to send their final goodbyes in the form of a text message to those they love.
The passenger, who was on Flight DE 3665, saw flames coming from the right wing of the plane just after 8pm, as per Bild.
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“Suddenly, the power went out for a few seconds, and we realized we were no longer climbing,” one passenger told the outlet, as another claimed: “It was an incredibly horrible experience. I already sent goodbye texts because I thought, ‘It’s over now.'”
Once flagged, the plane made its emergency landing at Brindisi Airport in southern Italy just fifteen minutes later, 40 minutes after taking off, according to FlightRadar24.
The terrifying ordeal has now been put to bed, as the airline says that passengers were never in any real danger and that it was caused by 'a disturbance in the air flow supply to the engine'.
“The reason was a parameter indication outside the normal range caused by a disturbance in the air flow supply to the engine,” a statement by Condor Airlines said. “Due to the fault message, it was precautionarily decided to divert to Brindisi. The aircraft landed around 8.15pm at Brindisi Airport, and all guests disembarked the aircraft normally.”
A spokesperson for the airline also told LADbible Group the issues were caused by a chemical reaction within the combustion chamber, and now it is being technically inspected.
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"We can confirm that media reports about an engine combusted in fire are FALSE." they said. "What happened was a reaction near the engine that normally takes place in the engine's combustion chamber leading to a visible reaction at the rear of the engine. This posed no danger to the guests at any time."
A video that was taken from the ground as the plane flies past shows the engine spitting fire at intervals, flashing in the sky before the fire dies out.
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In one TikTok video, the plane was making loud booming noises, with the poster captioning the clip: “I was just chilling … then realized a plane was literally fighting fire in front of me.”
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However, some of the passengers who were left in Italy had nowhere to go before they could board another flight.
“Unfortunately, there was insufficient hotel capacity in Brindisi, meaning that not all guests could be accommodated in hotels,” the airline told the outlet.
“Additional vouchers and blankets were organized at the airport, and a few shops were allowed to remain open to provide supplies. Passengers who took advantage of alternative accommodation options can submit their expenses for reimbursement.”
However, Condor Airlines did mention that ‘another Condor aircraft was dispatched to carry all guests to Düsseldorf’ on the same day.
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The airline went on to apologize to all for the incident, citing it takes passenger safety with the utmost care.
Britt Jones