Engine fire on Boeing 737 forces emergency landing in India

Passengers on a flight reacted in horror when the plane's engine caught fire, forcing an emergency landing in India.

The Boeing 737 plane, operated by Malaysia Airlines, caught fire shortly after taking off from Hyderabad, India, just after midnight on Thursday. The aircraft made an emergency landing minutes later with 138 passengers aboard, according to Viral Press.

Video captured by a passenger in a window seat shows sparks and flames streaking from the CFM International jet engine. 

Flight MH199 landed at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at 12:45 a.m. local time. Fire engines and ambulance vehicles met the plane on the runway.

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A Malaysia Airlines spokesman later confirmed that all passengers and crew landed safely back at the airport, Viral Press reported. The incident is now under investigation.

"Affected passengers will be reallocated to other flights for their continued journey," the airline spokesman said. 

"The aircraft is currently on the ground for further inspection." 

Flight data shows the aircraft, registration number 9M-MXU, is a Boeing 737-800.

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Boeing's 737 line of jets has become notorious in recent years for accidents and defects.

On Wednesday, relatives of victims who were killed in two separate plane crashes involving Boeing 737 MAX planes five years ago asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to fine the company the maximum amount under the law and to prosecute the former executives that were in charge at the time.

An attorney representing 15 families who lost loved ones that died in the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 or Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 sent a letter to the DOJ that requested Boeing face a $24.78 billion fine and that the corporate officials allegedly responsible face criminal charges — including former Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg, who resigned in December 2019.

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Lion Air Flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia, in October 2018, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed in Ethiopia minutes after departure months later in March 2019. Both flights involved the Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane, and 346 people were killed between the two crashes.

In 2021, Boeing reached a deferred prosecution agreement with the government that shielded the embattled corporation from criminal prosecution linked to the two fatal crashes, but the Justice Department determined in May that the plane manufacturer breached its obligations under that deal. The DOJ said at the time, "The government is determining how it will proceed in this matter."

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Boeing has fallen under increased scrutiny since a door flew off one of its aircraft in midair during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.

At least a dozen Boeing whistleblowers have come forward citing concerns over the company's quality assurance and culture since the Alaska Airlines incident, and the plane manufacturer is currently under investigation by multiple federal agencies.

FOX Business' Breck Dumas contributed to this report.