WATCH: Atlas Air Boeing 747-8 cargo plane makes emergency landing after engine catches fire

An Atlas Air Boeing 747-8 cargo plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Miami International Airport due to an engine malfunction shortly after takeoff. Dramatic footage captured the Boeing 747-8’s tail engulfed in flames shortly after departing from Miami International Airport. “The crew followed all standard procedures and safely returned to MIA,” Atlas Air said in a statement, adding that it would conduct an inspection to determine the cause of the incident which occurred late on Thursday.

BREAKING REPORT : ⚠️ Atlas Air Boeing 747-8 from Miami International Airport CATCHES FIRE MID AIR..

DEVELOPING.. pic.twitter.com/Qk6QLZ6U7E

— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) January 19, 2024

Unverified videos on social media platform X showed flames shooting out of the left wing of the aircraft while in flight. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the videos. The aircraft involved was a Boeing 747-8, Flightaware data showed. Boeing’s 747-8 is powered by four General Electric GEnx engines. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded and no injuries were reported, the airport told Reuters. It was not immediately clear how many crew were on board. Boeing declined to comment, while FAA and General Electric did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. Boeing has been engulfed in a crisis since an Alaska Airlines MAX 9 airliner made an emergency landing after part of its fuselage broke off shortly after take-off from Portland, Oregon, on January 5. The incident was the latest in a string of mishaps for Boeing that began in 2018, with the first of two crashes of Max 8 planes in Indonesia and Ethiopia — and more than four months apart — that killed a total of 346 people. Max 8 and Max 9 planes were grounded worldwide for nearly two years after the second crash. Since then, various manufacturing flaws have at times held up deliveries of Max jets and a larger Boeing plane, the 787. Last month, the company asked airlines to inspect their Max jets for a loose bolt in the rudder-control system. Boeing shares are down about 15% since the Alaska Airlines incident. The planemaker bid farewell to the iconic 747 early last year, delivering the final plane to Atlas Air and marking the end of an era when the first-ever “jumbo jet” ruled the skies. With inputs from agencies.