Usually, it's a good thing to get a free trip to Italy. For the passengers aboard a Condor Airlines flight on Saturday from Corfu, Greece, to Düsseldorf, Germany, however, their free trip to Italy proved absolutely terrifying, as their Boeing 757 was forced to make an emergency landing in the country when one of its engines burst into flames mid-flight, the New York Post reports. When they landed at the Brindisi Airport in southern Italy, the passengers ran into yet another problem: there reportedly weren't enough hotel rooms for everyone, forcing some of them to spend the night in the airport.
Two hundred and seventy-three passengers left Corfu, along with eight crew members, but when the plane reached about 36,000 feet, passengers reportedly noticed flames coming from the right side of the plane. Typically, you don't want to see anything burning while you're trapped in a metal tube, several miles in the sky, so it's completely understandable that the passengers were terrified. The good news is, they did make it, but it doesn't change the fact that they were justifiably worried that would be the end for them.
"It was an incredibly horrible experience. I already sent goodbye texts because I thought, 'It's over now,'" one passenger told Germany's Bild.
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Those Blankets And Vouchers, Though
When contacted for a comment, a Condor Airlines spokesperson told the Post the engine fire was caused by "a chemical reaction that happened inside the combustion chamber." They also added, "The reason was a parameter indication outside the normal range caused by a disturbance in the air flow supply to the engine." It isn't entirely clear what that means, exactly, but that's the explanation they're going with for now. Hopefully, we will get more information once they conclude their investigation.
As for the hotel room issue, the airline also told the Post, "Unfortunately, there was insufficient hotel capacity in Brindisi, meaning that not all guests could be accommodated in hotels." That said, "Additional vouchers and blankets were organized at the airport, and a few shops were allowed to remain open to provide supplies. Passengers who took advantage of alternative accommodation options can submit their expenses for reimbursement."
That certainly sounds better than dying strapped into a burning airplane, but it's still a rough deal for the passengers who weren't lucky enough to receive hotel rooms. Hopefully, they also receive some compensation for being unexpectedly forced to face their own mortality. Money can't erase the terror they experienced, but it does make you feel better about the bad things that happen.
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