Arsenal Women’s team plane bursts into flames on the runway, pilots forced to abandon take-off
Following their Champions League match against Wolfsburg, the Arsenal women’s team were on a plane back to the UK when a fire broke out on the runway, leading the pilots to abort the takeoff.
The incident was frightening and took place on Sunday evening, shortly after the team’s 2-2 draw against Wolfsburg in the semi-final of the Women’s Champions League.
Although Wolfsburg had initially taken a 2-0 lead through Ewa Pajor and Sveindis Jane Jonsdottir, Arsenal managed to stage a comeback with goals from Rafaelle Souza and Stina Blackstenius, making the return leg in London crucial for both teams.
According to a report from German publication BILD (via Football.London), there was a significant technical problem with the Boeing 737 that was supposed to transport the Arsenal team back to London after their match.
An eyewitness stated that the plane made a loud noise just before takeoff at 7:30 pm local time, and flames were seen emanating from the aircraft, causing the pilots to abandon takeoff and evacuate all passengers.
Fortunately, nobody was injured during the incident, and the Arsenal team managed to return to London on Monday.
The reason behind the technical problem has been attributed to a bird that flew into one of the plane’s engines just before takeoff.
Arsenal has verified that no one suffered injuries during the incident, and the club expressed their appreciation to the personnel at Wolfsburg’s Braunschweig Airport for their support.
“Our aircraft developed a technical issue prior to take-off in Germany on Sunday evening,” read a club statement.
“As a result, we remained in Wolfsburg overnight on Sunday before flying back to England on Monday afternoon. We would like to thank the staff onboard the aircraft and on the ground at the airport for their assistance.”
Jonas Eidevall’s team will resume their campaign on Monday with the return leg against Wolfsburg. Arsenal has already sold nearly 50,000 tickets for the game at the Emirates Stadium, and they are optimistic that it will be a full house.
The victors of the match will progress to the final, where they will face either Barcelona or Chelsea, on June 3.
Arsenal Women’s team plane bursts into flames on the runway, pilots forced to abandon take-off