Arsenal Women's Team Escapes Plane Fire as Pilots Abandon Take-Off on Runway

During takeoff after the Arsenal women's team Champions League match against Wolfsburg, a fire broke out on the runway, causing the pilots to abort the operation and evacuate the plane.

I see. It sounds like a tense moment during the Women's Champions League semi-final match between Arsenal and Wolfsburg.

 Arsenal had managed to secure a 2-2 draw with Wolfsburg in the first leg of the match, but it seems that they had initially struggled, with the German side taking a two-goal lead through Ewa Pajor and Sveindis Jane Jonsdottir.

However, Rafaelle Souza and Stina Blackstenius scored for the Gunners to even the tie, setting up an exciting second-leg in London.

According to a report from German publication BILD (via Football.London), the Boeing 737 scheduled to transport the Arsenal team back to London following the match encountered a significant technical problem. 

A witness reported hearing a loud noise from the plane just before its scheduled departure time of 7:30 pm local time, and flames were seen emanating from the aircraft, leading the pilots to abort the take-off and evacuate all passengers.

Fortunately, no one was injured during the incident and the Arsenal team was able to make their way back to London on Monday. 

The cause of the technical issue has been attributed to a bird flying into the engine of the plane just before it was scheduled to take off.

Arsenal have confirmed no one was injured and have thanked staff at Wolfsburg's Braunschweig Airport for their assistance.

"Our aircraft developed a technical issue prior to take-off in Germany on Sunday evening," read a club statement.

"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."

Jonas Eidevall's side return to action on Monday in the return leg against Wolfsburg.

Arsenal have already sold close to 50,000 tickets for the match at the Emirates and are hopeful it will be a sell-out.

The winners will go on to play either Barcelona or Chelsea in the final on June 3.