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Video: Plane's engine cover breaks away as flight takes-off

Las Vegas - The crew took action only after passengers showed them the damaged engine.

Alert passengers help avert major tragedy after an engine cover of Frontier Airlines Florida-bound flight tore off during take-off from Las Vegas airport. It was panic and chaos on the Airbus 320 to Tampa, Florida, carrying 166 passengers and crew members as the oblivious pilot took-off the plane in spite of engine failure.
One passenger, Jazmin Pedraza, managed to record the shocking moment the engine cover rips off while take-off from McCarran International Airport. "As the plane started to accelerate, to take off, there were engine pieces flying and the engine had caught a slight fire . One man started yelling and then everyone was yelling for assistance and pressing the buttons for [the crew] to stop the plane but we had already started taking off," Pedraza was quoted as saying in ABC News.
The crew took action only after passengers showed them the damaged engine. "Once we got the attention of the flight attendants, she came and looked out of our windows to see what was going on and then went to call the pilot and got the passengers under control," Pedraza said. "Everyone started making phone calls to their loved ones and crying and panicking then they announced we will be doing an emergency landing," she added. 
The flight landed back in Las Vegas at 7:26 am, 15 minutes after take-off. Confirming the incident, a spokeswoman for Frontier Airlines said an engine cover cowling came loose and separated from the aircraft. She added that the passengers were given the choice of a refund or a rescheduled flight. While, McCarran International Airport spokeswoman Christine Crews said emergency crew found debris on the runway. The incident is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration.