A Boeing 747 cargo plane had to divert its flight and return to Miami International Airport on Thursday night after an engine failed shortly after takeoff, said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
After the administration inspected the plane, they found a “softball size hole” above the plane’s #2 engine: “Post flight inspection revealed a softball size hole above #2 engine,” said the FAA according to a data entry on Friday.
In addition to the large hole that was found, the airplane was also reported to be shooting flames shortly after takeoff. This all happened to an Atlas Air Boeing 747-8 cargo plane.
"Mayday, mayday...We have an engine fire," an audio recording to air traffic controllers said. "Request access back to the airport. No, we'll go ahead and land. We have five souls onboard."
Atlas Air Flight 95 was heading to Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico. Nobody was injured in the incident and the plane was able to make a safe landing at around 10:30 PM.
“We can confirm that Flight 5Y095, a 747-8 cargo aircraft… landed safely after experiencing an engine malfunction soon after departure from Miami International Airport (MIA),” an Atlas Air spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “The crew followed all standard procedures and safely returned to MIA. At Atlas, safety is always our top priority and we will be conducting a thorough inspection.”
A Boeing spokesperson said that Boeing is “supporting our customer and will support the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into this incident”.
This most recent incident could bring Boeing down into further scrutiny. In 2018 and 2019, two deadly crashes caused by a software issue forced the company to ground their entire 737 Max fleet. Last month, Boeing told airlines to inspect all 737 Max aircrafts for loose bolts in the rudder-control systems. And just earlier this month, a door plug blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight on a 737 Max 9, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing.