'Terrifying' Video Captures Delta Jet Engine Catching Fire Just After Take-Off

A dramatic video has surfaced showing the exact moment a Delta Airlines jet experienced an engine fire shortly after takeoff.

This happened on Friday, July 18, when Flight 446 departed from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Not long after it was airborne, the plane was forced to turn around and make an emergency landing.

The Boeing aircraft was carrying 226 passengers at the time. It was originally headed to Atlanta but had to return to LAX after the mid-air scare.

The jet, a Boeing 767-400 model, had its takeoff moment livestreamed by L.A Flights—a YouTube channel known for broadcasting regular footage of planes departing from and arriving at LAX.

As luck or fate would have it, the channel happened to be filming when things took a sudden turn. In the video, the left engine can be seen catching fire while the plane is still climbing.

The footage was captured by Josh, one of the co-owners of the L.A Flights YouTube channel, who immediately noticed that something wasn't right.

He reacted in real time, saying: "Oh, look at that! Whoa! Was that a compressor stall? What's going on?"

"Hang on, that's not good." Josh added. He mentioned that while he was listening in to air traffic communications, he didn’t hear any emergency alarms going off on the radio feed yet.

The livestream later showed the moment the Delta flight safely landed back at LAX. Once the aircraft touched down, emergency responders quickly approached and began inspecting the situation.

Thankfully, it looked like the fire had gone out by the time the jet returned to the ground. Josh continued to speak on the situation, giving credit to those involved for how they handled it.

"Big round of applause to LAX Fire Department." he noted, before adding: "And a big round of applause to the crew of Delta 446."

While the exact cause of the engine fire hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, Delta Airlines has since issued a statement addressing the incident.

A spokesperson for Delta said: "Delta Flight 446 returned to Los Angeles shortly after departure following an indication of an issue with the aircraft's left engine."

"As nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and crew, the flight crew followed procedures and safely returned to the gate."

Delta Airlines has issued a statement on Friday's emergency landing SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

"We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travel plans."

Reactions poured in under the video, with viewers expressing relief that the situation didn’t end in tragedy. One person wrote: "Very terrifying, but well captured! I'm glad they made a safe landing."

Someone else added: "Wow that was scary, glad everyone was safe. Thank you for the pilots that did a great job." and another user commented: "Very scary to see, but excellent capture! Good to see them land safely."