Plane wobbles in storm, sparks fly as wing scrapes runway

(Dan Tri) - A plane shook, its right wing scraped the runway in Taiwan (China) in the middle of a big storm, causing engine number 4 to be damaged.

According to the New York Post , a video circulating online captured the moment a UPS Boeing 747 cargo plane lurched, its right wing tilted down and scraped the runway while landing at Taoyuan International Airport (Taiwan, China) on the evening of August 13, in strong winds due to Typhoon Podul.

Video footage shows the plane shaking violently, approaching the runway at a steep angle before its right wing hits the runway, sending sparks flying. After the impact, the plane continues to sway before coming to a stop.

The moment Boeing touched its wings and sparked flames after three failed landings in the middle of a storm (Video: New York Post).

According to the Aviation Safety Network , the plane made three unsuccessful approaches to the runway before landing successfully but encountered problems. The incident caused damage to one engine and the outer shell to fall off, but there were no casualties.

According to Simply Flying , this is UPS Airlines flight 5X61, departing from Hong Kong, with the final destination being Muhammad Ali International Airport (Louisville, Kentucky, USA), with stops in Taipei (Taiwan, China) and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (Alaska, USA).

The plane sparked when its wings touched the runway (Photo: Screenshot).

According to data from Flightradar24 , the flight lasted 2 hours and 20 minutes - about an hour longer than usual due to strong winds.

After the wobbly landing, the Boeing 747-8F still rolled to a safe parking spot. However, images that circulated later showed that the rightmost engine No. 4 was severely damaged, the engine cover attached to the outside of the fuselage took the full force of the impact and part of the cover was blown off.

This aircraft has registration number N613UP, first flew in October 2018.

According to ch-aviation , the airline currently owns 30 Boeing 747-8Fs with an average age of 6.1 years, of which 27 are in operation and 3 others are under maintenance. The aircraft has not returned to service since the incident.

UPS issued a statement to Simply Flying : “We are aware of an incident involving one of our aircraft during a landing in high winds caused by Typhoon Podul. We are cooperating with the investigating authorities as they review the incident. The aircraft is being inspected and repaired, and will not return to service until all safety procedures are met.”

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/may-bay-chao-dao-giua-bao-ban-tia-lua-khi-canh-quet-vao-duong-bang-20250816083858297.htm