Air Canada flight makes emergency landing after engine issue in Madrid

Elisabetta Bianchini
Updated ·3 min read

On Monday, an Air Canada plane travelling from Madrid to Toronto requested an emergency landing shortly after takeoff. The plane was seen landing just after 1:00 p.m. ET.

According to Reuters, the Boeing 767 aircraft called air traffic control just 30 minutes into the flight due to a “technical issue.”

Air Canada confirmed to Yahoo Canada that the plane did experience “engine issue” shortly after takeoff.

“A tire also reportedly ruptured on take-off, one of 10 on this model of aircraft. The aircraft opted to return to Madrid and is currently circling to use up fuel and lighten the aircraft for landing,” the statement, provided around 11:40 a.m. ET, reads.

“The aircraft, a Boeing 767-300, is designed to operate on one engine and our pilots are fully trained for this eventuality. Nonetheless, an emergency was declared in order to obtain landing priority. There are 128 passengers on board. We have no further details on the cause at present.”

The country’s pilots union has said that the plane lost pieces of the landing gear, needing to circle the area to burn off the fuel before landing. Flight path images showed the plane circling the Madrid-Barajas airport.

An F-18 fighter from the Spanish Air Force was spotted assessing the damage of the plane and providing support for the pilots.

People on social media took notice of the AC837 flight, showing images of flames coming from the plane.

Following the landing, people took to social media to applauding the “professionalism,” training and bravery of Air Canada pilots.

The emergency occurred hours after a drone sighting near the takeoff area caused over 20 flights diverted from Barajas the airport.