A Gol jet caught fire in one of its engines during takeoff on Wednesday night (Sept. 23) at Santa Genoveva International Airport in Goiânia, capital of the central state of Goiás. Flight G3 1747, bound for Brasília, was canceled, and the runway stayed closed from 6:40 p.m. to 8:17 p.m., a little over 90 minutes. Four flights scheduled to land in Goiânia were diverted to Brasília.

In a statement, Gol said the aircraft "had technical problems in one of its engines during the takeoff procedure" and that the flight was canceled. All passengers disembarked safely, the airline said, and affected customers will be placed on later flights, with the assistance required under Resolution 400 of ANAC, the rule by Brazil's civil aviation agency that sets passenger rights in delays and cancellations. Gol did not say how many people were on board. "All actions related to the operation were taken within protocols and with a focus on Safety, Gol's number 1 value," the company said.

Runway reopened after cleaning and inspection

Airport management said the runway was cleared at 8:17 p.m. after cleaning and inspection of the pavement, and operations resumed. A video recorded by a passenger, published by Jornal Opção, shows what the report described as a kind of explosion on the aircraft during the takeoff roll, with screams from passengers. No injuries were reported; according to G5News, the cause of the fire had not been disclosed.

Second Gol incident in Goiânia in 11 days

It was the second Gol incident at the Goiânia airport in 11 days. On Sept. 12, Flight G3 1433 to Congonhas, in São Paulo, returned to the airport nine minutes after takeoff because of a technical problem. That aircraft carried 184 passengers and six crew members and landed safely after the crew declared an emergency, Jornal Opção reported.

For the companies involved, the impact was contained: the runway was unavailable for about an hour and a half and resumed operations the same night, with four arrivals diverted to Brasília. For passengers, those on the canceled flight will be rebooked on later Gol flights, and travelers flying in the coming hours should confirm their flight status with the airline, guidance repeated by the airport and by G5News.