Delta flight makes emergency landing at JFK after blowing out engine; witnesses saw sparks, flames

"I was sure that everything was okay but some people were crying," said passenger Irine Dokuchaeva, 37, after the plane made an emergency landing.

Capt. E.C. Anderson said he lost his left engine right after takeoff, when the Boeing 767 with 193 passengers and 11 crew aboard was just 400 feet in the air.

"It just went bang," Anderson said. "I've been doing this a long time and I have never seen anything like that."

Airport officials said the pilot reported a "possible bird strike," but Anderson told the Daily News he didn't know what killed his engine.

"It will take them awhile to figure out what happened," he said.

Numerous witnesses dialed 911 to report flames or sparks as Delta Flight 30 lifted into the sky at 4:40 p.m., leading to early - unfounded - fears that the plane was on fire.

The jet, which can fly on one engine, was loaded with 60,000 tons of fuel for the nine-hour flight to Russia. Anderson said they had to circle for about an hour dumping fuel so the plane would not be too heavy to land.