Southwest Airlines Pilot Makes Emergency Landing After Engine Fire Fills Cabin with Smoke
A Southwest Airlines flight bound for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was forced to circle back to Cuba when a bird strike caused the cabin to fill with smoke.
Flight #3923 returned to José Martí International Airport in Havana on Sunday morning after an engine fire caused by a bird strike occurred shortly after takeoff, Southwest Airlines confirms in a statement to PEOPLE.
Passenger video filmed on a cell phone has circulated on social media and shows thick smoke inside the aircraft. Emergency oxygen masks can be seen dangling above some of the seats. The footage also shows passengers fleeing the plane via emergency inflatable slides on the airport's runway.
Passenger Steven Rodriguez told NBC News 6 that the initial impact sounded "like a big boom. Like an explosion."
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Getty Images José Martí International Airport
The airline tells PEOPLE in a statement the bird strike hit one of the engines and the aircraft's nose shortly after takeoff.
Getty Images Southwest Airlines plane
"The pilots safely returned to Havana where the 147 customers and six crew evacuated the aircraft via slides due to smoke in the cabin," a spokesperson says.
"The customers and crew were bussed to the terminal and are being accommodated on alternative flights to Fort Lauderdale," they add.
Getty Images Southwest Airlines plane
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The spokesperson says that they "commend the swift, professional actions of our pilots and flight attendants in responding to this event."
"We apologized to our Customers for the negative experience, extending compensation for the inconvenience and offering additional support," they add.
No passengers or crew suffered serious injuries, Southwest Airlines told NBC 6 News.
