201911.21
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LAX flight to Philippines returns after engine failure just after takeoff

by in News

A Philippines Airlines flight made an emergency landing after one of its engines failed shortly after takeoff from Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday, Nov. 21, officials said.

The Boeing 777 twin-engine aircraft was bound for Manila in the Philippines when it took off from LAX about 11:15 a.m., airport spokesman Heath Montgomery said.

The pilot declared an emergency shortly after, and the plane returned to LAX, Montgomery said. Philippines Airlines Flight 113 landed safely at noon.

The emergency turned out to be an engine failure, said Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Officials were aware of video taken from the ground that shows a plane with short bursts of flames coming out of the back of the right engine of a jet, but Montgomery said he could not confirm that the video was related to the Philippines Airlines flight.

The plane was not on fire when it returned to the airport and it taxied off of the runway. The airline will be responsible for accommodating the passengers who were on board the flight.

Video on social media showed passengers walking down a flight of stairs from the front of the plane with a shuttle bus nearby.

The plane was met on the ground by Los Angeles firefighters.

Adam Taylor, 36, of Long Beach was aboard the flight with his wife, Darlene, and their 2-year-old daughter, Maui. Taylor was filming his daughter’s reaction to the plane taking off when he noticed bright orange flashes and heard loud bangs, he said.

“I was just excited to see my daughter’s reaction to taking off on a plane,” he said. “We taught her what it is and over the last couple weeks we’ve been telling her we’ve been going up in a plane.”

The family was headed to Bali to start a five-week vacation. They had a scheduled 45-minute layover in Manila, Taylor said.

That all changed after they saw the flames through the windows near their aisle. After the bursts stopped, the flight attendants were in a bit of panic, Taylor said, and the plane began turning back toward the airport.

The pilot told passengers they were headed back to Los Angeles, but didn’t explain why. The flames blew the tires on the right side of the plane, causing a rough landing, Taylor said.

“Nobody ever came on, they came on and said we were going to land, but never gave us a clue as to what was going on,” he said.

Upon landing, they were met by police officers and firefighters. It took about a half-hour to get off the plane and the family was still in line at the Tom Bradley Terminal to figure out the next steps.

They still planned to go through with their vacation, he said.

In the meantime, hotel vouchers were handed out to all passengers. The Taylor family intends to use theirs, as they’ve rented out their Long Beach home as an AirBNB, Taylor said.

An airline official could not immediately reached for comment.

There were no reported injuries as a result of the emergency landing, authorities said.