Air Canada Boeing plane catches fire just after takeoff from Toronto, lands safely

An Air Canada flight en route to Paris with 389 passengers and 13 crew members caught fire just minutes after taking off from Toronto Pearson International Airport on Friday.

The incident prompted an immediate “PAN-PAN” distress signal by the flight crew, indicating a potential need for assistance. Fortunately, the aircraft managed to return safely to the airport with no injuries or casualties reported.

The Boeing 777 wide-body aircraft began its departure at 12:17 am (Toronto time). At 12:39 am, while the plane was still ascending, air traffic control (ATC) noticed sparks emanating from the right engine.

The malfunction was quickly communicated to the flight crew, who managed the situation expertly. The engine malfunction was captured on video by observers on the ground, which later went viral on social media.

Notably, astronaut Chris Hadfield also shared a video of the burning engine, praising the pilots and ATC for their exemplary handling of the situation.

Hadfield’s video, along with a YouTube reconstruction by ‘You can see ATC’, illustrated the aircraft’s flight path. The video revealed that the plane was at 1,000 feet when the pilots were alerted to the smoke and fire.

Despite the challenges, including low cloud cover and thunderstorms, the pilots maintained control, cruising at 3,000 feet before turning back to Toronto.

ATC facilitated the emergency by clearing Runway 23 for landing, with fire vehicles on standby. The aircraft landed smoothly and continued taxiing within four minutes.

Later, Air Canada also issued a statement on X and said that the fire erupted in the engine due to a stalled compressor.

“The aircraft landed normally, and it was met by first responder vehicles as a precaution before it taxied to the gate on its own,” the statement stated.

The recent event is the latest in a series of incidents involving Boeing aircraft over recent months.