American Airlines engine burns out over Ohio, striking flock of geese

The plane was seen over Ohio with flames spewing from the right engine. Photo / Twitter; CBus4life

Passengers and onlookers described the terrifying moment a US passenger plane began spewing flames, striking a flock of geese shortly after takeoff.

American Airlines flight 1958 to Phoenix was forced to perform a U-turn and emergency landing, after pilots recalibrated the plane for the loss of its right engine.

Alarmed plane watchers reported “major engine issues” on Monday, as the stricken Boeing 737 could be heard and seen clearly from across Arlington, Ohio.

Chilling rumbling noises were recorded in footage of the aircraft shared by onlookers, with long flames leaping from the right engine.

40 minutes after takeoff, the pilots were able to perform a successful emergency landing back at Arlington.

Terrified passengers from the American Airlines plane described those agonising minutes as some of the most fearful of their lives.

“Genuinely, this is the first time in my life that I was ready to die,” passenger Matthew Danek told WBNS news.

“The noise was deafening.”

The passengers praised the calmness and composure of the pilot and crew.

The airport remained open and ‘operational as usual’ while emergency services attended the unscheduled return of AA1958.

The Federal Aviation Administration is leading an investigation into the bird strike incident.

Passengers were transferred to a later service to Phoenix Arizona, departing at 10am.

High drama after UA cockpit pops open

This is not the only moment of high drama from US airspace in the past week. The reason for a similar U-turn from United Airlines 1274 was revealed, after the plane turned back after 20 minutes on Tuesday.

'We've had a window pop open' UA1274 U-turned after an issue after take-off. Photo / FlightAware, Screenshot

The United Airlines service from Connecticut to Washington Dulles was forced to make an emergency landing after a cockpit window “popped open” in mid air.

The UA1274 could be heard telling air traffic control “we’ve had a window pop open after take-off.”

A spokesperson for the airline said the crew returned to Bradley Airport on Tuesday to “address an unlatched cockpit window. The flight landed safely, and we reaccomodated our customers on another aircraft.”