Boeing cargo plane engine catches fire after takeoff from Miami

There were no injuries when a Boeing cargo plane’s engine reportedly caught fire on Thursday night, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Miami, from which it had taken off shortly beforehand.

The incident, which involved an Atlas Air Worldwide Boeing 747-8, was confirmed in records published by the Federal Aviation Administration.

“Aircraft departed, experienced #2 engine failure and returned to land,” according to the FAA. “Post flight inspection revealed a softball size hole above #2 engine, Miami, FL.”

The FAA noted that no reported fatalities or injuries were sustained in the air or on the ground and that the damage to the aircraft is unknown. Five crew members were aboard at the time of the incident, MIA told Reuters.

The plane was leaving Miami International Airport for San Juan, Puerto Rico, just after 10 p.m. when the malfunction occurred, forcing its immediate return to Miami after the pilot reportedly made a mayday call.

“The crew followed all standard procedures and safely returned to MIA,” the airfreight company said in a statement to the outlet.

The company, which serves DHL and FedEx, added that it will open a probe into what led to the malfunction. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue had six units “on standby for landing” at the airport, as MDFR told Fox News.

Footage of a plane that appeared to be on fire over Miami has been circulating on X,. Such videos have not yet been verified, according to Reuters.

“Footage shows a plane appearing to have a [sic] some sort of fire with trailing sparks while flying above Miami!” the Only in Dade account captioned the clip, which has been viewed more than 40,000 times. “The airplane has reportedly landed safely at MIA.”

The incident comes on the heels of an incident earlier this month with an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Oregon en route to Ontario, Calif. The Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing after losing its door panel in the air at 16,000 feet.

Four passengers aboard the nearly full flight filed a lawsuit over Alaska Airlines and Boeing over the incident they say caused them “intense fear, distress, anxiety, trauma [and] physical pain.”