A flight from Greece to Düsseldorf started spewing fire soon after taking off, giving passengers the scare of their lives, who thought they were going to die and started sending goodbye messages to families and friends. The incident happened on a Condor Airlines Boeing 757-300 that left Corfu with 300 people on board on Saturday. Right after takeoff, the plane’s right engine started spitting fire and smoke. A video captured from the ground shows the plane on fire. The fire got so bad that the smoke spread all around the plane and covered the windows. Passengers started panicking and sent their “final message” to loved ones. The pilot turned around the plane and made an emergency landing in Brindisi, Italy, as everyone heaved a sigh of relief after escaping their worst fears. A passenger recounted the horror to German newspaper Bild, saying that they heard a sudden loud noise, after which flames started shooting out of the engine. “I sent goodbye messages, thinking it was over. It was a horrible experience,” they said. Also Read: Shanghai-Tokyo Boeing plummets 26,000 feet, panicked passengers write goodbye letters and wills
What caused Condor plane to catch fire?
Reports suggest that the fire was triggered by a bird hit, while some mentioned that the engine of the plane exploded. Condor Airlines said that there was no explosion and the fire was caused by a “disturbance in air flow” to the jet. It added that a reaction in the combustion chamber had become more visible. The airline further said that all the passengers were safe. It told Mirror that Flight DE3665, travelling “from Corfu to Dusseldorf was diverted to Brindisi on 16 August 2025” because of “a parameter indication outside the normal range caused by a disturbance in the air flow supply to the engine.” Also Read: Just hours after deadly Ahmedabad plane crash, another Air India flight dropped 900 feet during takeoff
Condor sent another plane for the passengers
The plane landed at around 8:15 pm at Brindisi Airport, “with 273 guests and eight crew members” who got off the plane normally. Another plane left on August 17 to bring the passengers to Düsseldorf. This meant they had to spend the night in Brindisi, where sufficient accommodation wasn’t available. The airline said, “Unfortunately, there was insufficient hotel capacity in Brindisi, meaning that not all guests could be accommodated in hotels.” It provided “additional vouchers and blankets” at the airport, “and a few shops were allowed to remain open to provide supplies.”