An American airline Boeing 737’s engine burst into flames midair before the pilot safely executed an emergency landing at Ohio airport, as the aircraft was struck by a flock of geese.

The incident was reported to have taken place 40 minutes after the plane took off on Sunday.

According to Mail Online, passengers Marni Kallestad and Ryan Brink recorded the incident as flames shot from the engine.

The American Airlines flight 1958 to Phoenix, Arizona took off from John Glenn Columbus International Airport at 7:43am, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flights nationally, but landed back at the airport at 8:22am.

Witnesses on the scene said it was struck by a flock of geese as it took off, causing flames to shoot from the engine and create ‘wonky, pulsing noises.’

Meanwhile, in a corrected tweet, the airport made a U-turn, and said it was a mechanical issue and not an engine fire.

“Correction to our earlier tweet: the aircraft experienced mechanical issues, not an engine fire. Thank you to our emergency crews for their quick response,” it posted.

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Credit: DailyMail