One of the eyewitnesses said that he heard three explosions, and the passengers noticed how black smoke entered the cabin. The airline said that the fault of the bird – one of them got into the engine of the airliner.
A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-MAX8 passenger plane flying to Fort Lauderdale, Florida (USA) was forced to return to the airport and make an emergency landing in Havana (Cuba) due to an engine fire. The incident occurred on March 5, according to the local edition 14ymedio.
Passengers of the airliner saw from the porthole how the turbine caught fire, after which black smoke entered the cabin. Eyewitnesses reported hearing several explosions at first.
“Three explosions sounded, and in the air the plane began to release black smoke from one of the turbines. It seemed that it would fall on us, but it turned around and returned to the runway,” said a resident of the Calabazar district in Havana.
Cause of aircraft engine fire
According to the American television channel CNBC, citing a spokesman for Southwest Airlines, the fault of the birds that “attacked” the plane, one of them hit the engine.
Southwest Flight 3923, flying from Havana, Cuba to Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Sunday morning, was reportedly hit by birds on the aircraft’s engine and nose shortly after takeoff, Southwest said.
