New York-bound Delta flight makes emergency landing in Scotland, video shows what look like flames coming from wing
A passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight bound for New York from Scotland caught video of what appeared to be smoke or fire shooting from one of the plane's engines before it was forced to make an emergency landing Friday morning. The Boeing 767, which departed from Edinburgh at 10:50 a.m. local time, was met by a Scottish Fire and Rescue Service crew after making a safe emergency landing at Glasgow's Prestwick Airport just moments after it took off.
"Operations Control mobilized four appliances to the site, where firefighters remain working to support their partners," a spokesperson for the fire service said.
A video from inside the cabin captured what appears to be bright flames coming from one of the plane's wings, as passengers can be heard panicking in the background.
No authorities have confirmed that there was a fire on any part of the aircraft, and there were no injuries reported. Delta Air Lines confirmed only that there had been a "mechanical issue" with one of the aircraft's two engines.
"Delta flight 209 from Edinburgh to New York-JFK safely diverted to Glasgow Prestwick Airport," a spokesperson said. "We apologize to our customers for this inconvenience and are working to get them to their final destinations via Edinburgh."
According to BBC Scotland journalist Laura Pettigrew, who was on the flight, a loud bang was heard just before the plane was diverted.
"The plane took off and there was a loud engine noise, similar to the noise normally during take-off and landing, but it seemed to continue once we were in the air," she told BBC News. "When the plane touched down we could see fire trucks and firefighters with hoses rushing towards us."
Another passenger, Julie Nisbet, said it felt like the plane was just gliding with the engines switched off before they touched down.
"I didn't think we'd get down safely," she told STV News. "When we did, we clapped and cheered and whistled."