By Molly McElwee
Arsenal’s women’s team were forced to evacuate their plane after it dramatically caught fire on the runway in Germany on Sunday night.
The team were travelling back from their Champions League semi-final against Wolfsburg via a chartered flight, when a bird is understood to have flown into the left engine during take-off at Braunschweig Wolfsburg Airport.
It caused a loud bang and a fire to break out, forcing take-off to be abandoned and the squad and support staff were evacuated onto a coach on the runway.
No one was injured in the incident and, after spending the night in a hotel locally, the team instead flew safely back to London on Monday.
“Our aircraft developed a technical issue prior to take-off in Germany on Sunday evening,” an Arsenal club statement read.
“As a result, we remained in Wolfsburg overnight on Sunday before flying back to England on Monday afternoon. We would like to thank the staff onboard the aircraft and on the ground at the airport for their assistance.”
Matildas star Steph Catley arrives in Wolfsburg on Saturday.Credit: Getty
The scary scenes followed a whirlwind week for Arsenal, full of injury woes. In the last seven days the team have lost captain Kim Little and England captain Leah Williamson to season-ending injuries, and suffered a tough defeat to Women’s Super League title rivals Manchester United that all but ended their chances of winning the league.
But they somehow managed to keep their Champions League hopes alive on Sunday afternoon, recovering from a two-goal deficit against their German opponents to draw 2-2 thanks to goals from Rafaelle Souza and Stina Blackstenius. Matildas defender Steph Catley played the first 70 minutes for Arsenal before being substituted.
