An airline passenger captured the terrifying mid-air moment when a piece of luggage fell out of the plane’s hold and hit a propeller during a flight in Chile.
The Aerocord Airlines plane was flying over the Pacific Ocean last Thursday from Chaitén to Puerto Montt, in the southern region of Los Lagos, when the bag fell off.
Video of the incident showed the bag flying into the plane’s right propeller, causing its blades to stop momentarily.
A passenger aboard an Aercord Airlines flight recorded the moment a bag hit the plane’s propeller, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing.
The pilot was able to avoid disaster and safely land the aircraft, which was carrying one crew member and 18 passengers, at Chaitén airport.
One of the passengers told Chilean television channel Canal 13 that “they felt a strong blow and then everything started to vibrate.”
Before the flight, passengers spent four hours at the airport, where the attempt to take off was delayed because one of the plane’s doors did not close properly.
Shortly after the incident, Aerocord Airlines said in a statement that a bird struck the plane’s fuselage, “causing the cargo doors to become dislodged.”
‘The incident was reported to the corresponding aeronautical authorities and after activating the respective protocols, the company decided to return to Chaitén,’ the airline added.
Aerocord Airlines said in a statement that a bird hit the plane’s fuselage, “causing the cargo doors to dislodge.”
However, the passenger who recorded the video of the incident offered a different explanation.
‘When they took off, a suitcase fell from the plane, impacting the propellers and they had to make an emergency landing,’ said Luis Águila.
‘The plane was full of passengers and the incident occurred because they left a trunk door poorly closed. Fortunately, the pilot knew how to contain the emergency and managed to land.”
The incident took place less than a week after a deranged passenger tried to open the door of a Copa Airlines plane in mid-flight.
Customers sprang into action and helped the crew subdue the man, who initially held a flight attendant hostage with a plastic knife as the plane traveling from Brasilia, Brazil, landed in Panama City, Panama, on Monday.
The passenger was beaten and put in plastic handcuffs and the pilot was able to safely land the plane at Tocumen International Airport, where authorities arrested him.