A Condor Airlines Boeing 757 with 273 passengers and eight crew members on board was forced to make an emergency landing in southern Italy after one of its engines caught fire mid-flight on Saturday, as reported [1] by The New York Post.
The flight, DE 3665, had departed from Corfu, Greece, and was en route to Düsseldorf, Germany, when passengers began noticing flames shooting from the aircraft’s right engine shortly after takeoff, according to German outlet Bild.
The incident occurred at an altitude of approximately 36,000 feet when the aircraft experienced what officials described as a turbine airflow disruption. Passengers reported seeing flashes of fire around 8 p.m. local time.
⚡ Boeing Again:
German Condor Boeing 757 (D-ABOK) carrying 273 passengers from Corfu to Düsseldorf bursts into flames after takeoff, with a loud bang heard across the area. Eyewitnesses saw flames shooting from the right engine exhaust. The pilots declared an emergency and… pic.twitter.com/eFsvFMuH7y [2]
— Defence Chronicle India (@TheDCIndia) August 18, 2025 [3]
By 8:15 p.m., the crew diverted the flight to Brindisi Airport in southern Italy, where the plane landed safely. The diversion took place roughly 40 minutes after takeoff, flight tracking service FlightRadar24 confirmed.
Some passengers described the frightening moments aboard the aircraft. “Suddenly, the power went out for a few seconds, and we realized we were no longer climbing,” one passenger told Bild.
Another recalled:
“It was an incredibly horrible experience. I already sent goodbye texts because I thought, ‘It’s over now.’”
Videos circulating on social media appeared to show flames flashing intermittently from the engine. In one video taken by a bystander in Italy, loud booms from the malfunction could be heard as the plane passed overhead.
🚨⚡️UNUSUAL
NEW BOEING FLIGHT INCIDENT
A Condor Boeing 757 operated by a German airline, flying from Corfu to Düsseldorf, turned into an airborne nightmare – its right engine caught fire shortly after takeoff.
All 273 people on board heard a loud bang, experienced moments of… pic.twitter.com/tt6TFeVcRv [4]
— RussiaNews 🇷🇺 (@mog_russEN) August 18, 2025 [5]
Condor Airlines said in a statement that the incident was caused by a chemical reaction inside the engine’s combustion chamber. The airline said none of the passengers or crew were ever in danger, but the decision was made to divert the flight out of precaution.
“The reason was a parameter indication outside the normal range caused by a disturbance in the air flow supply to the engine,” Condor explained.
“Due to the fault message, it was precautionarily decided to divert to Brindisi. The aircraft landed around 8:15 p.m. at Brindisi Airport, and all guests disembarked the aircraft normally.”
