Photo courtesy of klowphotography
PHOENIX – A Sun Country flight leaving Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport on Tuesday night and headed for Minneapolis had to quickly turn back around due to an “engine event.”
The airline says flight SCX606 experienced an “engine event” shortly after departing at 5:11 p.m. on Nov. 26.
“Our pilots followed their standard procedures, and the flight returned to PHX where it landed safely and taxied to its gate,” a Sun Country Airlines spokesperson said on Nov. 27.
There were 174 passengers and six crew members on board.
“Passengers were deplaned and have returned to MSP Wednesday morning on a new aircraft,” the airline said.
As for what the “engine event” was, the airline said, “our maintenance team is inspecting the aircraft to determine the cause of the event.”
The plane for this flight was a Boeing 737-800.
“As always, the safety of our passengers and the safety of our crews are our priority,” the airline said.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told FOX 10 it’s investigating this incident. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it is not investigating.
There was a report that parts of the plane flew off, but the airline said that did not happen. There was another report that the “engine event” was engine failure, but the airline said the cause of the event is being looked into.
The FAA’s full statement:
“Sun Country Airlines Flight 606 returned safely to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport around 5:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Nov. 26, after the crew reported an engine issue. The Boeing 737-800 was originally heading to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. The FAA will investigate. Please contact the airline for additional information.”
Sun Country Airline’s full statement:
“Our flight 606 from Phoenix to Minneapolis-St. Paul experienced an engine event shortly after departure at 5:11pm local time on Tuesday, November 26, 2024. Our pilots followed their standard procedures, and the flight returned to PHX where it landed safely and taxied to its gate. Passengers were deplaned and have returned to MSP Wednesday morning on a new aircraft. There were 174 passengers and six crew members onboard. As always, the safety of our passengers and the safety of our crews are our priority. Our maintenance team is inspecting the aircraft to determine the cause of the event.”
‘Saw a flash of light’
“It happened probably within the first minute of you know getting off the ground,” Whitney More said. “We were inclining and all of a sudden, we heard this loud boom or bang and saw a flash of light. We were all the way toward the back, so we were behind the engine. We could see a flash of light and then all of a sudden you just kind of felt us not going upwards and kind of angling a little bit.”
The pilots were able to land the plane safely back at Sky Harbor.
With so many travelers around for the holiday week, it wasn’t clear when more would be able to leave for Minnesota.
“So that was where it was a little bit frustrating, I guess I would say from Sun Country, because we sat for about two and a half hours and had no answers on if we were getting another plane, what we were doing. I’m actually pregnant, so I was like, ‘I really wanna get going,'” More said.
She was one of those passengers who got on a Wednesday morning flight to Minneapolis.