United Airlines plane catches fire ‘after hitting RABBIT’ as terrified passengers scream for help
A RABBIT has reportedly caused midair chaos on board a United Airlines flight after it got stuck in the plane’s right engine.
The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing after a loud bang rocked the passenger jet and sent flames firing out of the wing.
The Boeing 737 was travelling from Denver to Edmonton when the 159 passengers on board heard a crash as the plane took off.
As it climbed up into the sky, those travelling quickly noticed something was wrong.
Passenger Scott Wolff said: “There was a loud bang and a significant vibration in the plane we proceeded to still climb.
“Every few moments there was a backfire coming from the engine, a giant fire ball behind it.
“Everybody in the plane then started to panic.”
Footage shows people running out of their seats to look outside of the windows as flames started to burst out from the right wing.
Screams can be heard from inside the cabin as the passengers came to terms with the serious issue.
A woman can be heard repeatedly alerting crew of the fire as multiple babies cried over the panic.
Separate video taken from the ground showed the aircraft with a black streak of smoke coming from behind it.
The plane remained in the air for 75 minutes before the crew had to shut off the right engine after making a mayday call.
The plane made an emergency landing back in Denver a short time later.
A United Airlines spokesperson said: “The aircraft returned to the gate, and we’ve lined up a new aircraft to get our customers on their way.”
It has since been revealed that the rabbit may have become trapped inside the engine after it was hit by the fast-moving aircraft on the runway.
Audio from the pilot was later released as he can be heard saying: “Rabbit through the number two. That’ll do it alright.”
The midair incident is the latest in a spate of horror plane accidents.
Just days earlier, an eight-year-old girl was among six people who died in a helicopter crash over the Hudson River.
Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, his wife, their three children, and a pilot all perished in the disaster.
Chilling footage of a separate crash site showed the remains of a private plane which killed a family of top doctors.
The parents, two children, and the children’s partners all died when their plane plunged on their way to the Catskills for a birthday and Passover celebration last Saturday.
Investigators shared a harrowing video of the aircraft wreckage ripped apart in a muddy field in Copake, New York, just 10 miles from the airport it was headed toward.