IT started as a normal runway taxi filmed by a plane spotter from the sidelines. Then boom. The engine explodes.

The entire scene was captured by plane spotter Simon Lowe who posted his video onto YouTube.

Thomas Cook flight TCX314 was carrying 325 passengers to the Dominican Republic at the time of the incident at Manchester Airport.

On the Aviation Herald - a website that lists all the aviation incidents around the world - the accident is listed as a "rejected takeoff". But it's much more scary than that.

Take a look at Mr Lowe's video below. It is very lucky this accident happened on the ground.

There is some debate on his YouTube page over whether the Thomas Cook A330 engine exploded or whether it was just a compressor stall. Still, the fact remains that a huge ball of fire engulfs one of the plane's engines as it taxis down the runway. Either way, that's not good.

Mr Lowe continued to film, capturing the response from emergency vehicles. He says it took them two minutes and 46 seconds to arrive on the scene.

A Thomas Cook spokesman said: "We can confirm that an incident took place at Manchester Airport regarding flight TCX314, during takeoff to the Dominican Republic.

"The aircraft developed an engine fault and returned to stand; as a precaution, the airport emergency services attended the aircraft - but at no time were passengers or crew at risk.

"We'd like to thank our customers for their patience during the delay to their flight; a replacement aircraft was used to take them on their holiday the same afternoon."

An investigation is underway.