Terrifying Take-Off: Camera Rolls as Plane Engine Rips Apart

A Sky Airline flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Chile on Thursday, after a part of the plane ripped away during take-off.

According to reports, the left engine’s protective panel broke off as the plane accelerated down the runway. A passenger who was sitting over the plane’s wing was recording the take-off on their smartphone and captured the terrifying moment on camera.

The Santiago to Copiapo flight, which had 137 passengers on board, immediately aborted the one and half hour journey and returned to the airport after the incident.

Related: Behind the Scenes: How an Emergency Airplane Evacuation Works

Sky Airline us Chile’s second-largest carrier, and operates under a low cost model. (Photo: Sky Airline)

Once back on the ground, the passengers were transferred to another plane.

In an interview with the Telegraph, aviation expert Patrick Smith explains exactly what happened.

“A portion of the engine cowling became unlatched – because perhaps it was not latched properly to begin with, got caught in the windstream and was torn off,” he said. “The cowling section itself is nothing immediately critical; it’s just a cover.”

According to the Aviation Safety Network, this is the 39th incident involving the loss of an engine cowl door on an Airbus 320-type aircraft.

One of the perks of snagging a window seat is the ability to gaze out on the skyline during take-off.

But it looks like passengers got more than they bargained for on this flight.

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