Terrified passengers started sending “goodbye messages” to their friends and family after a plane engine caught fire after flying into a flock of geese.
Swoop flight W0312 flew into a flock of geese as the flight was bound for Edmonton in Canada.
According to CTV News, passengers heard a “loud thud” when the geese were sucked into the plane engine.
The engine caught fire and pilots announced they had to return to Abbotsford Airport due to running on “two engines”.
“I started seeing flames coming out of the right engine.” Passengers describe the terrifying moments before the plane they were on made an emergency landing in #Abbotsford. https://t.co/VCYOvhiuAh pic.twitter.com/hxto3cY2Rg
— Allison Hurst (@AllisonM_Hurst) 11 September 2019
Passenger Fadhl Abu-Ghanem told CTV News: “I started texting my mum saying, ‘Something’s wrong with the aeroplane. I love you.’”
Donna-Lee Rayner posted on Facebook that there was smoke in the cabin and she could smell burning.
She wrote: “Start my goodbye messages in case my phone is recovered after we crash.”
“One of the engines sucked up some geese and the smell was them,” she wrote. “Currently running on two engines and we are turning around back to Abbotsford”.
Swoop wrote an emailed statement to CTV News about the incident.
“We can confirm Flight 312 landed safely in Abbotsford due to a bird strike shortly after departure.
“All travellers were offloaded safely and without incident. Thank you to our captain and crew for ensuring the safety of our travellers.”