Why did the Atlas Air Boeing 747 cargo plane catch fire? FAA reveals post-flight report

The cargo plane Atlas Air Boeing 747 made an emergency landing at Miami International Airport late Thursday night on January 18, 2024, after it experienced engine failure, causing flames to shoot out.

The Federal Aviation Administration found out in a preliminary report that there was a "softball-sized hole" above one of the engines on the cargo plane, which could have resulted in the fire. Atlas Air said in a statement,

"The crew followed all standard procedures and safely returned to MIA. At Atlas, safety is always our top priority and we will be conducting a thorough inspection to determine the cause."

As per NBC, the Atlas Air Flight 95 took off around 10:22 pm, shortly after which it experienced engine failure, and then returned to the Miami airport around 10:30 pm.

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"Mayday mayday": Pilot was heard calling for emergency landing as the Atlas Air Boeing 747 caught fire

On January 18, 2024, a video taken from a phone captured the cargo plane, Atlas Air Boeing 747, flying across the sky with what appears to be a trail of fire behind it.

The Boeing 747 cargo plane departed from Miami International Airport Thursday night and was on its way to Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico, as per ABC News. The plane, however, landed back at the Miami Airport at around 10:30 pm ET after the crew reported an "engine failure," according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

As per NBC, the pilot can be heard in the Air Traffic Control broadcast, saying, "Mayday, mayday... We have an engine fire." while requesting access back to the airport, adding that they have "five souls onboard."

The Federal Aviation Administration is already investigating Boeing after an Alaska Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing when a door plug fell off the fuselage midair this month. The damage happened a few minutes after Flight 1282 took off from Portland International Airport, depressurizing the cabin and exposing passengers to open air thousands of feet above ground.

The passengers onboard captured the footage, showing a hole where the door plug came loose. The plane made an emergency landing and none of the passengers or crew members experienced serious injuries.

The FAA said in a statement on Friday that it will look into the latest incident on an Atlas Air flight, as per NBC News. The National Transportation Safety Board has also opened an investigation into the incident and it gave a statement on Friday saying the organization is "collecting information to evaluate and determine" the scope of the probe.

Boeing told ABC News the same day, that it is "supporting our customer and will support the NTSB investigation into this incident." Boeing disclosed that the engine maker is GE Aviation. U.S. passenger airlines stopped flying the 747 in 2017. The plane has since been used as a freight aircraft for Atlas Air.