Advertisement

Engine fire sends Southwest Airlines jet back to Salt Lake City

Click to play video: 'Southwest Airlines jet returns to Salt Lake City after engine fire'
Southwest Airlines jet returns to Salt Lake City after engine fire
A Southwest Airlines flight had to return to Salt Lake City on Monday after flames began spurting out of one of its engines – Feb 27, 2018

An engine fire forced a Southwest Airlines jet headed to Los Angeles to return to Salt Lake City shortly after takeoff Monday, an airport official said.

The Boeing 737-700 landed safely, said Salt Lake City International Airport spokeswoman Nancy Vollmer.

Story continues below advertisement

Witness Al Oshiro said he was getting out of his car as he arrived at work when he saw the plane overhead.

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“All of a sudden I started seeing these orange flames just coming off the right side of the engine,” said Oshiro, an aerospace engineer for Moog Inc. He heard a sound “so loud that a lot of people came out of the building because people thought the building was getting hit.”

READ MORE: Hawaiian Airlines plane engine spurts fire on Seattle tarmac

Click to play video: 'Hawaiian Airlines plane engine spurts fire on Seattle tarmac'
Hawaiian Airlines plane engine spurts fire on Seattle tarmac

There were about 110 passengers and five crew members aboard the aircraft, Southwest Airlines said in a statement. The passengers were put on another plane to Los Angeles.

Southwest said the pilots returned to the airport after they received a cockpit indicator of “a potential performance issue” with one of the jet’s engines.

Advertisement

Sponsored content

AdChoices