A Spirit Airlines flight bound for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport gave passengers a serious scare after an "emergency situation" occurred shortly after takeoff and the plane had to return to its origin of North Texas.
A Spirit spokesperson told CBS News that the captain noticed an "indication of a possible mechanical issue," and decided to turn back, executing a "normal landing." The passengers "safely deplaned," but some of the customers traveling on Flight 165 told a different story.
Passenger Casey Rogers released text messages to CBS that he'd sent to his wife Ashlee once he realized something on the plane had gone awry.
"...I love you make sure my kids know that forever," one text message read. "We have a problem I the plane it's full of smoke the engine has stop and te whole plane is shaking...I love you don't forget it!! Pray for me."
After a few more fear-ridden messages, Rogers told his wife that the urgency had died down.
"We are trying to land now," he wrote. Minutes later, he said, "We are down we are ok..."
"I saw the engine blow up on the outside of the plane, fire and all that," Rogers told KTVT. "I'm thinking to myself, I see this on the movies. I'm usually on my couch eating popcorn. This never happened to me. And here I am, 25,000 feet above the ground and this is happening to me."
Rogers added that plane personnel ensured the landing went smoothly.
Spirit representatives said that the pilot noticed a mechanical issue on the plane, and decided to turn around and head back toward Dallas-Fort Worth airport as a safety measure.
Smoke poured into the cabin after "one engine was shut down, which is normal procedure and this plane can operate on one engine," officials told CBS News.
After returning to the Texas airport, passengers boarded another plane bound for Atlanta. The official cause of the incident isn't yet known, but no casualties or injuries were reported.
