Fresno-bound airplane returns to Las Vegas after report of fire

An Allegiant Airlines flight bound for Fresno made an emergency landing Saturday shortly after taking off from a Las Vegas airport because of a reported engine fire.

Officials at McCarran International Airport say the airplane departed just after 4 p.m. Saturday when witnesses say they saw flames and heard explosions from the engine.

The pilot had reported a fire in one of the plane’s two engines, airport spokesman Chris Jones told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, clarifying that it didn’t necessarily mean that the engine caught fire.

Jones says there were no injuries and the aircraft landed safely. Flight 514, a Boeing 757, landed safely about 15 minutes after takeoff, Jones said.

Jones says Clark County firefighters inspected the airplane but found no evidence of a fire.

Fernanda Corral, of Las Vegas, said she and her family were eating in the patio of a restaurant about 2 miles north of the airport about 4 p.m. when eaters heard loud “booms” similar to fireworks and saw flames coming from an airliner. Corral said they saw no smoke.

Allegiant Airlines says the flight had to return because of a compressor stall in the left engine but the engine did remain operational.

“We can’t speak to what some people may have witnessed, but can confirm that there was no fire in the engine,” the airline spokesperson said.

None of the flight’s 153 passengers and seven crew members were injured, the airline told the Review Journal.

Passengers later boarded a replacement aircraft.

This story was originally published August 2, 2015 at 1:32 PM with the headline "Fresno-bound airplane returns to Las Vegas after report of fire."