Swift Response Helps Flaming Plane to Land Safely at LAX

Smoke Was Spotted After Takeoff

On the evening of December 5, 2017, AeroUnion Boeing 767-200 freighter XA-LRC departed Los Angeles International Airport for Guadalajara. Shortly after takeoff, another crew preparing for departure saw smoke from the aircraft's right engine and reported it over the radio.

The Return Path Had a Constraint

LAX Tower relayed the warning to the AeroUnion crew and coordinated the emergency return. The damaged engine affected the aircraft's ability to maneuver normally, and the controllers built the return path around right-hand turns.

Twenty Aircraft Were Already Moving

The return was being conducted in a busy airport environment. Controllers had to work the emergency aircraft while maintaining separation from other traffic. The aircraft was brought around to Runway 25L for the landing.

Back on the Ground

The Boeing 767 landed safely at LAX. Contemporary aircraft records identify XA-LRC and the December 5 date, while later reporting records the engine fire and the aircraft's safe return. No fatalities were associated with the incident.

The fire was identified while the aircraft was still close to the departure airport. That timing gave LAX controllers an opportunity to organize a return rather than sending the aircraft farther away from the airport while the engine condition was developing.

The aircraft was a cargo-configured Boeing 767-241ER, registration XA-LRC. The flight had departed LAX for Guadalajara. The engine involved was the right engine, and the return was constrained by the need to use right-hand turns.

Controllers had to build the emergency return around other traffic already operating near LAX. the flight sequence identifies Brandon Roche, Marco Patino, Dennis Julianna and Michael Flores among the controllers involved in the coordination.

The aircraft landed safely and no fatality is reported. No final mechanical cause for the engine fire is established.

The aircraft was identified as XA-LRC, an AeroUnion cargo 767 built in 1987. The incident occurred during the initial climb, shortly after the aircraft left Los Angeles.

Smoke and fire came from the right engine, followed by the emergency return and safe landing at LAX.

The return required coordination beyond the immediate tower position. Controllers had to keep other departures and arrivals separated while giving the emergency aircraft a usable path back to LAX. The right-turn constraint made that coordination more specific than a normal emergency return.

The fire was visible to another crew before the AeroUnion pilots necessarily had a full picture of what was happening. The tower therefore had to relay the warning and organize the return while the aircraft was still climbing away from the airport.

The safe landing at LAX ended the immediate emergency. Aircraft records identify XA-LRC at Los Angeles on the date of the incident and note that the airplane landed safely after the engine fire.

The event is documented as a safe landing rather than a crash. The available sources do not establish any fatalities or a subsequent loss of the aircraft.

The emergency was contained within the airport's immediate operating area, and the aircraft did not continue toward Guadalajara after the engine problem was reported.

Accident facts

Chronology of the event

Sources