A Delta Air Lines flight had to return to Los Angeles shortly after take-off and make an emergency landing after one of the engines caught fire mid-air. The incident happened on July 18 when the Boeing 767 was en route to Atlanta.
Boeing 767 catches fire mid-air: Video
A video of the flight DL446 has been doing the rounds on social media. It opens to show flames coming from the aircraft’s left engine as one person exclaims, “Oh, look at that!” As the video goes on, the camera zooms in on the aircraft’s engine.
Boeing 767 of Delta
— Dr MJ Augustine Vinod 🇮🇳 (@mjavinod) July 19, 2025
Inbound for LAX
Engine caught fire, couple of hours ago
Boeing, what’s going on? pic.twitter.com/pu3kRBoBFO
As per reports, the flight landed safely, and emergency services were on standby at the airport. All the passengers are safe, and the fire was doused at the airport.
According to Aviation A2Z, the flight caught fire moments after takeoff from the Los Angeles airport. The crew declared an emergency to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) and requested an immediate return. The ATC then guided the aircraft back to the airport and also alerted the emergency safety services.
The flight climbed over the Pacific before circling back over Downey and Paramount areas, before it made an emergency landing, Flightradar24 data shows. The aircraft, as per reports, was flying at a controlled altitude and speed.
Once the fire was doused, the aircraft was towed for further inspection. The aircraft, which caught fire, is a 2.6-year-old aircraft and is powered by two GE CF6 engines, Aviation A2Z reported.
‘Who to blame now?’ asks social media
While responding to the video, one of the social media users wrote, “Who to blame now? Pilots or the Boeing!”
Another joined, “Once upon a time, Boeing was a tech company where decisions were made based on engineering principles and frameworks, and finance was a support function. Then it merged with Mc Douglas and it transformed into a company driven by finance, which also happened to be doing technical work. Cost cutting, efficiency and Share buybacks became the driving force, with technical work being seen as just another department.”
“If Air India, Boeing and everyone else who investigated the AI 171 crash will investigate this too, they’ll report about the pilot lighting the engine using a match while smoking and throwing the match out of the window. Because Boeing is never at fault,” commented a third with a dash of sarcasm.
A fourth posted, “Something seriously wrong with the Boeing.”
