The pilot of the Colombian airline Avianca turned off one of the plane’s engines this Thursday in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean (30). The plane was carrying 235 passengers and had an engine oil leak.

The plane made an emergency landing due to engine failure – Photo: Avianca/Disclosure

According to R7, flight AV-11 took off this Thursday afternoon from Madrid (Spain) to Bogota (Colombia), but an oil leak was detected on the Boeing 787-8’s instrument panel, causing the pilot to shut down the engine.

The plane was relatively close to the island of Santa Maria, which is part of the Azores, an archipelago owned by Portugal. Then the commander turned around and flew with just one turbine.

The plane landed, no injuries

He managed to land about five hours after taking off from the Spanish capital. 235 passengers and crew left the plane safely and without injury.

On Friday morning (1st), according to the specialized website Aviation Herald, the plane remained on the ground in Santa Maria.

The airline said the plane was diverted to Santa Maria for a safe landing due to a technical problem. The company then began operations to move and deliver passengers to their destination, Bogota, using another aircraft at 10 a.m. local time in the Azores (8 a.m. in Brasilia).

The Boeing 787-8, flying between Bogota and Madrid this Friday, will be flown empty to Santa Maria to take passengers from the island to the Colombian capital.