The dramatic moment a plane's engine caught fire shortly after take-off from a bustling international hub has been captured on video. Passengers and crew aboard Virgin Australia flight VA148, a Boeing 737 destined for , were thrown into a mid-air emergency when one of the engines started spewing flames, resulting in injuries to a passenger and a crew member. The terrifying scene of fire erupting from the aircraft was filmed by shocked locals directly under its flight path.
According to , residents reported loud explosions and witnessed the engine catching fire, prompting an urgent diversion to Invercargill, New Zealand. Witnesses described the harrowing experience, with reports of the plane "sounding like it was coming apart" as it belched flames while soaring over the country. Social media was abuzz with footage and accounts of the incident, with one resident posting: "Sounded like it was coming apart over our house.
One engine was throwing flames and sputtering out." Another person raised concerns about a "possible emergency event at Queenstown Airport involving a Boeing 737". Eyewitness Nick Lambert spoke to the about his sighting of the troubled aircraft, saying: "It was making one hell of a pulsing/throbbing noise out of one engine then it was shooting flames out - maybe hit a bird? It continued climbing and the noise and flame stopped.
" The Bulletin has reported that a shocking incident occurred on a flight with 73 passengers aboard, resulting in injuries to both a pass.
