An Air Canada Boeing 767 circled Madrid for over 6 hours before making an emergency landing after it suffered engine damage during take off

Reuters; Flight Radar

Air Canada flight AC837 (left) and a map (right) showing its journey circling the air before returning to the same airport.

An Air Canada Boeing 767 flight suffered damage to its engine and ruptured a tyre during takeoff, circled the air for hours, and landed back safely in the same airport it took off from six and a half hours later. 

The plane was carrying 128 passengers and eight crew members, all of whom were unhurt, according to Reuters. 

Flight AC837 departed from the Spanish capital Madrid at 12:55 p.m. local time, and was scheduled to arrive in Toronto, Canada at 3:40 p.m. local time, according to flight tracking website Flight Radar.

However, the flight didn't make its final destination, and landed back in Madrid's Barajas airport at 19:30 pm local time - six and a half hours after it took off - after circling the area near the Spanish capital for several hours, according to Spain's air navigation manager ENAIRE. 

REUTERS/Susana Vera

A passenger of an Air Canada Boeing 767 aircraft which made an emergency landing, gives thumbs up as she walks through the terminal at Madrid's Barajas Airport, in Madrid, Spain February 3, 2020.

In a statement obtained by The Associated Press (AP), Air Canada said that shortly after departing the plane experienced an engine issue and a ruptured tyre. 

The airline said that shortly after takeoff  "an emergency was declared in order to obtain landing priority," according to the AP. 

The map below from Flight Radar shows the journey of the aircraft as it appears to have looped several times in the air before heading back to the airport. 

Flight Radar

Map showing flight AC837 circling the air before landing back at Madrid's Barajas airport.

Business Insider reached out to Air Canada for comment but was not immediately able to reach a spokesperson from the airline. 

One passenger onboard posted a photo on Twitter from inside the aircraft as the plane took off showing flames coming out from "the left engine". 

"Just at take off there was a huge bang under my seat and then I saw smoke and flames from the left engine," he said in the post. 

A Spanish military F-18 fighter jet was also dispatched to assess potential damage done to the plane after takeoff, according to ABC News. 

The moment was captured by the same passenger in the video below: 

Another passenger, Brock Mierzejewski, told the AP that there was "obviously a lot of nervous tension while we were in the air, but the pilots did a terrific job landing the plane."

Earlier on Monday Madrid's Barajas airport had to close for around two hours after drones were spotted flying in the area.