The moment jet passengers thought they might die (but some were still going to take one last picture): US plane in emergency landing after engine 'explodes' and cabin fills with smoke

  • Video filmed by passenger shows travellers wearing oxygen masks
  • Passengers are shrouded in a haze of smoke inside the cabin 
  • Twilight actor Jackson Rathbone was on board with his wife and young son and documented the harrowing ordeal on Twitter

By Chris Kitching for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

A video filmed by a passenger wearing an oxygen mask shows the dramatic scene inside an aircraft after one of its engines malfunctioned and filled the cabin with smoke.

Passengers express confusion as they are shrouded in a haze of smoke and a wailing child is heard in the background, but everyone remains calm as they prepare for an emergency landing.

Oxygen masks were deployed after the engine failure occurred on a JetBlue flight from Long Beach, California, to Austin, Texas, on Thursday.

A video filmed by a passenger wearing an oxygen mask shows the dramatic scene inside an aircraft after one of its engines malfunctioned and filled the cabin with smoke

A video filmed by a passenger wearing an oxygen mask shows the dramatic scene inside an aircraft after one of its engines malfunctioned and filled the cabin with smoke

Passengers express confusion as they are shrouded in a haze of smoke and a wailing child is heard in the background, but everyone remains calm as they prepare for an emergency landing

Passengers express confusion as they are shrouded in a haze of smoke and a wailing child is heard in the background, but everyone remains calm as they prepare for an emergency landing

Remain calm:  The man who filmed the dramatic scene turns the camera on himself before giving a wave

Remain calm:  The man who filmed the dramatic scene turns the camera on himself before giving a wave

The twin-engine Airbus A320 was carrying 142 passengers and five crew. 

Amidst the confusion, a passenger asks, ‘Did we blow an engine?’, as the man films the cabin’s interior and the scenery outside.

At one point, he turns the camera on himself, showing his oxygen mask, and gives a wave.

Moments later, the pilot announces that plane has suffered a right engine failure and the engine has been ‘shut down’.

He tells passengers to remain in their seats while the aircraft returns to Long Beach Airport in suburban Los Angeles.

An air steward tells them to stay out of the bathrooms and keep seatbelts fastened.

The twin-engine Airbus A320 was carrying 142 passengers and five crew

The twin-engine Airbus A320 was carrying 142 passengers and five crew

The pilot informed passengers that the right engine had failed and the plane was returning to Long Beach

The pilot informed passengers that the right engine had failed and the plane was returning to Long Beach

Twilight actor Jackson Rathbone, one of the passengers on board, documented the harrowing ordeal in a series of tweets and photos.

He wrote that the engine ‘exploded’ before smoke clouded the plane and revealed his relief at having landed safely.

Mr Rathbone, who played Jasper Hale in the wildly popular vampire franchise, told his Twitter followers that he said a prayer and held his wife and young son in his arms. 

The actor posted a picture to whosay.com showing passengers coming off the plane with the help of the Long Beach Fire Department.

He wrote: 'From the bus, we all just followed one after another. I never felt so okay being a lemming.' He then posted a selfie, adding: 'Where are we going/ don't care we're alive- face.'

Airport spokeswoman Cassie Perez-Harmison said no one was injured during the evacuation, but three people were tended to at the scene and a fourth was taken to hospital for observation

Airport spokeswoman Cassie Perez-Harmison said no one was injured during the evacuation, but three people were tended to at the scene and a fourth was taken to hospital for observation

A second video filmed by a passenger shows the cabin clear of smoke as it makes a safe landing.

Passengers evacuated onto the runway using the plane’s emergency slides.

Airport spokeswoman Cassie Perez-Harmison said no one was injured during the evacuation, but three people were tended to at the scene and a fourth was taken to hospital for observation.

The pilot declared the emergency and used an ‘extinguishing agent’ when the cockpit received an ‘overheat warning’ on the engine. 

Safe landing: A second video shows the plane arriving in Long Beach after the cabin was cleared of smoke

Safe landing: A second video shows the plane arriving in Long Beach after the cabin was cleared of smoke

Passengers evacuated onto the runway using the Airbus A320¿s emergency slides

Passengers evacuated onto the runway using the Airbus A320’s emergency slides

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