On May 4, a Brazilian low-cost airline, Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes was readying for a flight from the Santos Dumont Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Porto Alegre when suddenly the plane's engine caught fire on the runway moments before take off.
According to a report by Mirror, a "Technical problem" caused flames to erupt from the engine shortly before it was due to depart incident took place shortly before it was due to depart. Fortunately, none of the passengers were hurt in the incident. However, the runway was shut off for an hour.
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GOL Airlines said that the technical issue was detected in time and all emergency protocols were followed by the pilots and crew. "GOL reports that this Thursday, Flight G3 2040, operating the Rio de Janeiro to Porto Alegre route at 5.20 pm, had its take-off interrupted after a technical failure was detected in engine two," an airline spokesperson said.
"The decision was taken while taxiing at low speed during the first stretch of the runway at Santos Dumont Airport. The crew followed the established procedures and returned to the parking position to disembark, which occurred without incident."
"To minimise the impact on customers, the company is offering places on the next flights," it added.
The passengers were accommodated on other flights.
A spokesperson for aviation authority Infraero said, "Operations at Santos Dumont Airport were suspended between 5:27 pm and 6:26 pm on 4 May due to debris left on the runway by an aircraft from the airline GOL, which encountered a problem during takeoff.
"There were no injuries. Maintenance and operations teams promptly carried out an inspection and the cleaning of the runway."
An investigation into the technical issue is ongoing, reported Mirror.
