Alaska Airlines Flight Makes Emergency Landing After Engine Cover Peels Off Midair [Video]

Passengers on a San Diego-bound Alaska Airlines flight witnessed an unprecedented incident when they looked out of the window shortly after the flight took off from Seattle, and saw parts of the plane engine flaking off.

A viral video shared on social media shows a part of the plane's cowling, a removable metal covering for the engine, separated from the aircraft and leaving the interiors exposed. One of the passengers captured the Monday morning incident from the window of the aircraft.

Flight 588 was diverted back to Seattle shortly after takeoff, a representative for Alaska Airlines said in a statement to CNN.

As soon as the damage was discovered, the pilots turned the aircraft around to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport where it landed safely.

According to the airline, the flight experienced "an unusual vibration on the left side of the aircraft soon after departure."

One of the videos shared on Twitter shows the cowling completely detach from the plane as it landed.

In the statement, Alaska Airlines stated that 176 passengers and six crew members were onboard at the time of the incident. No injuries were reported and the crew handled the incident with care, USA Today reported.

"The two pilots who operated the flight have more than 32 years of combined flying experience," the statement added. "They, along with our flight attendants, handled the incident with tremendous professionalism and care. We also greatly appreciated the patience of our guests during this event."

Greg Anderson, a passenger who was onboard at the time, spoke to CNN and said the plane took off smoothly from Seattle Airport. However, moments later, passengers heard a little pop and the plane started experiencing an "unusual vibration."

"We slowed way down then the captain came on and said he felt an 'unusual vibration,' and we were told he was looking for a place to land," Anderson said.

He added that more parts of the cowling fell off during the plane's landing.

Meanwhile, the Boeing 737-900ER plane has been taken out of service to allow the safety team to investigate any potential problems in the aircraft, the airline said.

In another incident on Aug. 11, LOT Polish Airlines flight 41 which took off from Warsaw to Toronto was forced to make an emergency landing after a passenger got into an altercation with the cabin crew. The passenger yelled at members of the cabin crew and tried to open the aircraft's door. He was later handled by fellow passengers.