Reuters Photojournalist Documents His Harrowing Flight As Engine Catches Fire

While most of us would probably have reacted by screaming, praying and/or making a mess in our airplane seat, Reuters photographer Beawiharta – who in the past has beautifully captured everything from brilliantly erupting volcanoes to the plight of Indonesian mental patients – elected to document his harrowing flight from Singapore to Jakarta once things began to go wrong.

Beawiharta was traveling with his wife and three children on the short Cathay Pacific flight when he was awakened by two loud bangs and began to smell something burning. His plane began to vibrate violently and he feared the worst:

I realized the plane, an Airbus A330, had a big problem. I was afraid because I thought we would die. Pradipta looked into my eyes and asked: “Will we die?” I was afraid and could not answer the question. I looked at all my children’s faces and held my lovely wife’s hands tightly.

So what’s a journalist to do when he finds himself smack dab in the middle of an unfolding news story? Document everything, of course! And that is precisely what Beawiharta did, even after he learned the plane’s engine had caught on fire:

During my many years of assignments as a Reuters photojournalist, when flying I have imagined being on a plane that had a problem that forced an emergency landing, and then taking pictures. But I never imagined this situation with my family. But it happened. We will die together, so we can fly to heaven together, I thought. If we die together, I will not miss my wife’s delicious cooking, I will not miss the smell of my kids’ sweat. There will be no tears among us. My thoughts, to my surprise, stopped me being afraid any more.

“Will we die?” Pradipta asked again. I looked into his eyes, held his hand tightly and said: “No, we’re alive, we’re still alive,” then I gave him a high five just as if we were playing basketball.

The plane’s passengers were eventually able to deplane safely once the engine fire had been put out – and they can now quite literally look back on their ordeal with relief.

Below, find a gallery of just some of the pictures taken during the flight, via Reuters.

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h/t Reuters