Terrified passengers started writing their goodbyes after the engine of a Canadian airliner caught fire shortly after take off.
Swoop Flight W0312 was bound for Edmonton in Canada when a flock of geese were sucked into the engine. The engine subsequently caught fire, with video footage capturing the plane erupting into flames.
Passengers can be heard screaming to alert the cabin crew to the fire.
Pilots can be heard announcing that the aircraft will make an emergency landing at Abbotsford Airport in British Columbia.
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Frightened travellers started to write moving messages to their loved ones as they prepared for the worst.
"I started texting my mom saying, 'something's wrong with the airplane. I love you'," passenger Fadhl Abu-Ghanem told CTV News.
Donna-Lee Rayner shared her experience on Facebook.
"[I] start my goodbye messages in case my phone is recovered after we crash," she wrote.
"[There was] smoke in the cabin and the smell of burning."
The pilots safely executed the emergency landing and no injuries have been reported.
"We can confirm Flight 312 landed safely in Abbotsford due to a bird strike shortly after departure," Swoop said in a statement on social media.
"All travellers were offloaded safely and without incident. Thank you to our captain and crew for ensuring the safety of our travellers."
The passengers have since made it to Edmonton on a recovery plane as the initial aircraft remains too damaged to return to service.
However, there was a silver lining to the frightening incident.
"Forever friends. The group of us 'rowdy's', we're excited that there's finally a plane for us," Rayner posted a selfie of her and her new friends on Tuesday evening (local time).
The passengers made it safely to Edmonton on Wednesday morning (local time).
"I made some forever friends. To experience something so traumatic and have the support of complete strangers is something I'll never forget," Rayner wrote.
Swoop is described as an "ultra low-cost" Canadian air carrier which was launched as a WestJet subsidiary in June last year.
Newshub.
