A Hainan Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was forced to make an emergency landing at Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) shortly after takeoff when its right engine caught on fire.
Hainan Airlines flight HU438 departed from runway 16R at FCO airport at 10:02 local time on November 10, 2024, and was headed to Shenzhen Baoan International Airport (SZX) in China. There were 249 passengers and 16 crew members on board.
A few minutes after takeoff, multiple witnesses claimed they heard several explosions and the right aircraft’s engine caught fire, according to a report published by Sky TG24 on November 10, 2024. Approximately 30 minutes into the flight, the aircraft turned around and made an emergency landing back at FCO Airport.
According to the Harbour Master’s Office, at 10:20 local time, the Coast Guard operations room in Rome received a report from a yachtsman who was on a rubber dinghy near the tourist port of Ostia when he heard an explosion and saw an aircraft flying by with one of its engines on fire.
Video footage posted to X, which was released by Aviación al Día on November 10, 2024, clearly shows flames erupting from the aircraft’s engine.
The Port Authority of Rome said the fire may have been caused by a bird strike.
The aircraft flew several circles over the Tyrrhenian Sea to dump fuel. This was done to avoid fire risks from the kerosene on board.
According to data from FlightAware, the aircraft landed safely at FCO at 11:06 local time.
Airport officials and Hainan Airlines stated that all safety measures were properly followed. No injuries have been reported.
The flight to Shenzhen was canceled while the technical issue was being addressed.
According to local media reports, the incident caused a brief disruption to operations at FCO airport, but did not affect later flights. The aircraft will also be subject to technical inspections to investigate and fix the engine issue.