Flight 307 was departing from William P. Hobby Airport in Houston en route to Cancun on Tuesday evening when the right engine caught fire, according to the Washington Post .
"All I know is the plane started swaying from left to right. I fly once or twice a month and I knew this was not normal. I was sitting next to the window near the engine of the plane and all I saw was like fireballs coming off the wings," said passenger Coale Kalisek.
Fire on Southwest plane midweek
Jordan Kleinecke, another passenger, told ABC News that he felt like a small airbag was inflating, and then he started smelling fuel…
Southwest later said the flight returned to the departure airport to check for a mechanical issue. The plane landed safely, was decommissioned, and another plane was dispatched to continue its journey to Cancun.
However, Kalisek and his girlfriend decided not to continue flying after the terrifying 27-minute flight and canceled their vacation in Mexico.
Boeing 737 forced to make emergency landing
The US Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.
According to Forbes , Tuesday night's incident is not the first mishap in recent aviation history. On Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board (FAA) announced an investigation into a near collision between a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 and a Cessna Citation 560X small jet on a runway in San Diego. Just before midnight, air traffic controllers at San Diego International Airport cleared the Cessna to land even though the Southwest Airlines flight was already on the ground and had permission to taxi down the runway for takeoff, according to a preliminary assessment by the FAA. The Cessna reportedly flew about 100 feet above the Southwest plane. In February, a FedEx cargo plane flew about 115 feet away from a Southwest Boeing 737 in poor visibility conditions.
Southwest is one of the few major US-based airlines that has never suffered a fatal accident.
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