A harrowing video captures an Air Canada Boeing jet with flames erupting during takeoff, forcing an abrupt emergency landing.
An Air Canada flight bound for Paris, carrying nearly 400 passengers, encountered an “engine issue” shortly after takeoff on Wednesday night. This incident necessitated an immediate return to Toronto Pearson International Airport.
“Holy crap!” exclaimed someone recording the takeoff, as flames burst from the tail end of the plane immediately after it left the runway. “We have an engine fire—holy s–t!” the man thought aloud, his voice filled with urgency. Flames erupted, occasionally extending along the length of the jet as it continued its ascent.
Footage of the Boeing Air Canada jet catching fire found its way to X (formerly Twitter).
Of course, denizens of the internet weighed in on the horrifying video.
“Fire everyone at Boeing [who] isn’t a degreed engineer, an electrician or a mechanic,” one concerned X user wrote. “Heart in mouth moment. Wouldn’t blame the passengers for not wanting to fly after that plane returned safely…”, a second user added.
Meanwhile, some internet aviation experts seemed to think the footage was nothing to write home about. “Compressor stalls are usually not a big deal,” a wannabe pilot wrote. “The operating area may not be well ventilated so the air compressor needs good ventilation to maintain its temperature,” a second apparent engineer added.
However, one X user couldn’t help but poke fun at all of the armchair experts commenting on the footage. “The amount of Twitter and MSFS experts below is staggering. Thank God they’re here so this never happens again,” they quipped.
Air Canada Confirms Details of the Jet That Seemingly Caught Fire
Meanwhile, in a statement, Air Canada confirmed the incident involving flight AC872.
“After the aircraft landed, it was inspected by airport response vehicles as per normal operating processes, and it taxied to the gate on its own,” the airline told CTV News. “The aircraft will be taken out of service for further evaluation by our maintenance and engineering professionals.”
Air Canada reported that the Boeing 777 that caught fire had 389 passengers on board. The airline added, “Passengers will be accommodated on another aircraft departing Toronto later tonight.”
A spokesperson for the airport confirmed to CP24 that the plane landed safely and was greeted by the fire department. FlightAware, a flight tracking service, reported that the plane departed from the gate at 8:46 p.m. and arrived at Pearson Airport at 9:50 p.m.