Fire at Adelaide Airport: Terrified passengers on Rex Airlines plane watch as engine bursts into flames just seconds after take-off
Passengers on a Rex Airlines flight have captured the terrifying moment an engine burst into flames just seconds after take-off.
Flight ZL4818 from Adelaide to Broken Hill was preparing to depart on Wednesday morning when a fault indicator signalled a problem with the left engine.
Unburnt fuel caught fire in the engine just moments later.
Smoke and flames were seen billowing from the plane, forcing the flight to be quickly aborted.
Passengers disembarked on the tarmac and were bussed back to the terminal, as the plane was returned to its bay.
There were no reports of any injuries.
Mark Goodger was among dozens of passengers on board and said the budget airline handled the ‘scary’ incident well.
‘They had to evacuate on the tarmac,’ his wife, Julie Goodger, told 7News.
The fire erupted just seconds after the Rex Airlines flight left Adelaide Airport on Wednesday
‘He’s got a refund and so did others. Not flying today!’
Passengers have been rebooked on alternate services.
‘The crew followed standard operating procedures, rejecting the take-off and safely vacating the runway,’ a Rex Airlines spokesman told Daily Mail.
‘In accordance with standard operating procedures, crew shut down the left engine and as a result a small amount of unburnt fuel ignited in the left-hand engine’s exhaust pipe for a brief period.’
It’s understood the plane is now out of service as airline conducts an internal review.
Australia’s national transport safety investigator ATSB has also launched an investigation.
The incident caused the brief closure of the runway before normal operations resumed at 8am.
