Boeing 757 Condor carrying 273 passengers catches fire midair; pilot's decision saves the day

ROME: A plane flying from Corfu, Greece, to Düsseldorf made an emergency landing in Italy after surviving a midair scare. The fire broke out in an engine on the Boeing 757-300 Condor, which was carrying 273 passengers and eight crew members.

The incident took place on Saturday night after the plane's right engine caught fire an hour after takeoff. After making an emergency landing, the plane took off for Düsseldorf the next day. A terrifying 18-second video of the plane catching fire in the sky has also been released. Sparks can be seen flying from the right side of the plane's fuselage in the video. A flock of birds can be seen near the plane. It is suspected that the engine caught fire after a possible bird hit incident.

The pilot shut down the faulty engine as soon as he realised there was a problem. The plane, which was flying on one engine, later made an emergency landing in Brindisi, Italy. The passengers reportedly had to stay on the plane overnight due to a lack of available rooms in hotels near the airport. The airline apologised for the inconvenience caused to the passengers.

The Boeing 757, nicknamed the 'Atari Ferrari', is one of the oldest aircraft models in the world. It has been in service for nearly 50 years. Last month, a Los Angeles-Atlanta flight operated by US airline Delta also made an emergency landing after a fire broke out in the left engine at midair.