The Federal Aviation Administration found a "softball-sized hole" in the Boeing 747 that made an emergency landing in Miami late Thursday night, NBC Miami reports.
Atlas Air Flight 95, a cargo plane that was headed to Puerto Rico with five people onboard, departed Miami International Airport at around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, only to quickly turn around and return to the airport after experiencing engine failure.
According to the FAA preliminary report, a "softball-sized hole" was located above the second engine during the post-flight inspection.
Video of the plane, with flames streaking from the engine, went viral on social media.
Atlas Air said in a statement that the plane "landed safely after experiencing an engine malfunction soon after departure from Miami International Airport."
"The crew followed all standard procedures and safely returned to MIA," the company said. "At Atlas, safety is always our top priority and we will be conducting a thorough inspection to determine the cause.”
This marks the latest high-profile safety incident involving a Boeing airplane and comes about two weeks after the Alaska Airlines flight in which a part of the aircraft "blew off" and tore open a hole in the side of the plane, prompting an emergency grounding of all Boeing 737 Max 9 planes in the United States until they could be inspected.
Boeing addressed the Miami incident in a statement, saying that the company is "supporting our customer and will support the National Transportation Safety Board investigation into this incident."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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