A Boeing 737 belonging to Southwest Airlines was forced to make an emergency landing at Houston airport in Texas shortly after taking off due to a fire in its engine. The aircraft had lifted off from William P. Hobby Airport in Houston and was headed to Cancun, Mexico, but had to return to the departure airport.
Videos circulated on social media show flames and thick white smoke coming from the aircraft's engine. The plane landed safely, spending a total of 27 minutes in the air, according to FlightAware data.
Southwest released a statement saying that its Boeing 737 faced a "mechanical issue shortly after takeoff" and was "taken out of service for review," indicating that "passengers were able to continue their journey on another aircraft." Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration reported that it will investigate the incident.
