A plane was forced to make an emergency landing with just one propeller after its engine caught on fire.

The heart-stopping moment was captured by passengers who looked out of the window to see the aircraft's propellers not spinning.

The Nok Air twin-propeller aircraft was carrying 84 people and took off from Sakon Nakhon, Thailand, yesterday at 3.10pm.

But just two minutes into the flight its engine was engulfed in flames.

Footage shows smoke coming from the plane's engine which has become charred while it flies above farming fields 5,000ft high.

Smoke could be seen coming from the plane
Passengers looks out the window to see the plane's propeller not working

Power to the engine was cut - forcing the Bombardier Dash 8 Q 400 to make a swift u-turn and perform an emergency landing at the airport it had just left.

The co-pilot can be heard telling passengers that there is an "engine failure" and apologising for the inconvenience.

It landed at around 3.25pm some 15 minutes after take-off and passengers can be heard applauding the pilot in the clip.

One passenger described how the aircraft "shook slightly" during the fire and feared that something "much worse" was about too happen.

The engine caught fire just two minutes after take off
The plane was forced to turn around and make an emergency landing

And fellow-flier Wee Boonsena said: "We had just taken off and about one or two minutes later suddenly there was fire coming out of the exhaust of the engine. This happened two times. It was about 5,000ft high.

"It was a little bit exciting, a bit scary. My wife was a lot more scared than me. But thanks to the training of the pilot and the professionalism of the crew it was handled safely.

"Firefighters were on standby as the plane landed so I was relieved we all made it off safely. Emergency situations like this can happen to any airlines."

Nok Air confirmed that the plane made an unscheduled landing and "passengers were later transferred in five buses to Nakhon Phanom airport" back to capital city Bangkok.

Passengers applauded the pilot for getting them back to the ground safely

A spokesman said: "The captain of Flight DD9407, which left Sakon Nakhon International Airport at 3.10pm, properly observed safety precautions by returning to land at the airport following an engine malfunction.

"Some passengers were transferred to fly Flight DD9521 that left the Nakhon Phanom International Aiport at 9.10pm and reached Don Muang Airport at 10.20pm.

"Other passengers were allowed to reschedule their flights at their convenience or get a refund."