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A commercial airliner has been forced to make an emergency landing after a fire broke out in the engine mid-flight.
Talk about the flight from hell.
Passengers flying from Guadalajara, Mexico to Los Angeles have described the horror moment when they watched the engine of their plane spark up and catch fire mid-flight.
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The terrifying incident happened just after the VivaAerobus flight had taken off from Guadalajara.
Instead of settling into their seats to relax, passengers were on the edge of their seats as the right engine of the A320 airbus burst into flames.
Flight VB518 passenger Kimberly Garcia said she heard an explosion about 10 minutes after wheels-up.
When she looked out the window, she grabbed her mobile phone to capture the flight from hell on camera.
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"Everyone started to panic," Garcia said. "You [could] hear screams, cries, and people praying."
"We had to ring the emergency button about 6 times before we got the attention of the flight crew, because they had yet to communicate anything on the speaker to us."
While the passengers prayed, cried, and watched showers of sparks fall from their plane towards the ground, the pilots captaining flight VB518 made the decision to turn back.
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Astonished people on the ground took to social media to document sightings of the plane, engulfed in flames on the right hand side, as the plane made the perilous journey back to its home port.
"I just saw a plane in the sky from which sparks were coming out and suddenly a loud noise like an explosion here in Guadalajara, I saw how it was returning towards the airport," Mexican writer Ilde Salher said on Twitter.
"I hope they have been able to arrive and are all safe."
After a tense 45 minutes in the air, the plane landed again at Guadalajara much to the relief of every soul on board.
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Thankfully, no injuries were reported.
VivaAerobus has since confirmed that the nightmarish incident occurred minutes after the flight took off at 10:03 pm (local time).
The airline said in a statement: "There was a fault related to the engine number two, which caused sparks to come out due to metal friction."
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"The crew returned to Guadalajara International Airport, making a successful landing at 10:45 pm (local time), confirming the safety of all passengers on board and all crew members."
The airline's statement revealed that an investigation into the nearly-disastrous incident is now underway.
"We do not have information yet on the reasons for this incident," a Viva Aerobus spokesperson said.
"We deeply regret the inconveniences that this circumstance may have caused, which will be analysed and evaluated by the airline and the competent authorities."
The airline confirmed that the passengers who had intended to travel to Los Angeles were provided other flights in the wake of the incident.
Featured Image Credit: Kimberly Garcia via StoryfulTopics: Travel, Viral, US News
