L.A.-Bound Flight Makes Emergency Landing After Engine Breaks Apart Over Ocean

Image courtesy of @RickEngebretsen

An Air France flight from Paris to Los Angeles was forced to make an emergency landing in eastern Canada after one of the plane’s engines broke into pieces over the Atlantic.

The A380 superjumbo jet and its 497 passengers landed at Goose Bay airport in Newfoundland on Sunday afternoon. No one was hurt, and the airline says it’s now investigating “serious damage” to one of the plane’s four engines.

“The aircraft landed safely at 15:42 (GMT), and the regularly trained pilots and cabin crew handled this serious incident perfectly,” the airline said.

One passenger Tweeted that a fellow traveler with a view of the engine said it “exploded” into a “giant fireball.”

Another reported a “loud thud” and “lots of vibration,” Tweeting a photo of the engine in pretty bad shape:

Passengers reported having to wait in the plane for hours on the tarmac without any updates from the crew. Eventually, after about 23 hours onboard, passengers said they were allowed to leave and board a bus

“Air France apologizes once again to all its customers affected by this incident for which specific commercial measures will be implemented.”

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