Plane with visible flames makes emergency Phila. landing

A commercial airliner made an emergency landing Friday night at Philadelphia International Airport after one of its engines started shooting flames, authorities and witnesses said.

The Airbus 320 with 133 passengers and five flight crew members landed safely at 9:22 with no reported injuries, authorities said.

US Airways Flight 669 was destined for Seattle when an "engine issue" was reported after takeoff, said Josh Freed, spokesman for American Airlines, which is merging with US Airways.

Freed said that the engine was never on fire and never lost power, and that the flames were caused by "fuel that burns off as it leaves the back of the engine."

The passengers were transferred to another plane Friday night bound for Seattle, Freed said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it was investigating.

At 8:55, police started receiving 911 calls about a plane in distress.

Ethan Burger, 16, said he was on the flight when he noticed "some kind of bumping noises" and the plane "shaking a bit" after takeoff.

He opened his window and "there were flames spitting from the engine," he said.

He said that other passengers saw the flames, but that "everybody was pretty calm."

The flames lasted about five minutes, said Burger, who had attended a camp in Pennsylvania hosted by Johns Hopkins University.

In Philadelphia, people reported on Twitter seeing a plane with flames visible from an engine.

Joe Zeni, 36, was in the backyard of his Fishtown home when he first heard "loud bursts of air," like a machine gun, he said.

When he looked directly overhead, he saw what appeared to be a commercial airliner with "big orange flames shooting out of the left engine."

Zeni saw a "big burst of flames for a second or two, then another big burst of flames" before it disappeared from view.

"It was absolutely surreal," he said. "It felt like I was watching a movie."