A Delta Air Lines flight was forced to make an emergency landing after flames began shooting out of one wing.
Passenger Richard McRobbie, 47, who was traveling with his wife Randa, 37, told theEdinburgh Evening Newshe heard a “strange noise” and “bangs” coming from the plane before it made the emergency landing.
“We were on the plane and there was a bit of a funny noise as we went along the runway before we took off – it was a strange noise,” McRobbie said. “Thinking back now, with hindsight, it didn’t sound right. We took off and I ended up nodding off and I woke up with a banging noise — three big sort of bangs and the next minute the plane suddenly nose-dived and then out the window the engines are on fire.”
Delta Air Lines plane.Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty
“We were just above the clouds at that point, you could see the clouds below us and you could see yourself going towards the clouds,” he continued. “I didn’t know where we were. I do a bit of mountain walking, so I tried to turn on my GPS to understand where I was. I’d woken up with a fright and I was looking round and I could see everyone’s eyes, like startled, and then we started going down.”
McRobbie recalled passengers were told to exit the plane “as soon as we landed.” He said, “It was, ‘Please leave the plane, do not collect your belongings. Get off the plane immediately’ because basically the plane was on fire on the runway.”
In a statement provided to PEOPLE, Delta confirmed, “Delta flight 209 from Edinburgh to New York-JFK safely diverted to Glasgow Prestwick Airport after a mechanical issue with one of the aircraft’s two engines.” The airline says it arranged accommodations for the passengers and rescheduled flights for the next morning.
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BBC Scotland News journalist Laura Pettigrew was also on the flight andtold the BBC, “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. The captain walked up the length of the plane and then there was a Tannoy announcement, although no-one could hear it. But we soon realized we were preparing to land.”
“When the plane touched down we could see fire trucks and firefighters with hoses rushing towards us,” she added.
Pettigrew also praised the plane crew. “They kept everyone calm,” she recalled. “The pilots seemed to do a smooth job of getting us down safely. Apparently the cabin crew were preparing for a crash landing.”
No injuries were reported, according toCBS News.
source: people.com
