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A Southwest Airlines flight carrying nearly 150 passengers and crew was forced to make an emergency landing after a bird strike reportedly left a hole in one of the plane's wings.

There were tense moments for passengers and panic on the ground before the plane landed safely at Baltimore Washington International Airport on Friday night.

Witnesses in Anne Arundel County in Maryland heard a loud rumbling noise overhead and reported seeing flames shooting out of the aircraft.

Passenger Antonio Wolff tweeted a photo of the wing, which he said had a hole in it

The Boeing 737 was carrying 142 passengers, plus crew, from San Antonio to Baltimore when the bird strike occurred.

Passenger Antonio Wolff, who was in a window seat on flight 3118, snapped a photo of the plane's wing in the darkness.

He said on Twitter that there was a hole in the wing after the bird collided with the plane, and he hailed the crew on board.

Firefighters inspect a jet engine after a Southwest Airlines plane collided with a bird near Baltimore

Glenn Young spoke to CBS Baltimore and said he witnessed a terrifying sight from the ground.

He said: 'It rumbled my house, I know that much. [The plane] was low and she was on fire. She had flames coming from underneath and on the sides.

'She was burning. It sounded like a carburettor, a racing car misfiring, sputtering… that's what it sounded like and it rocked the house once she went over top.'

Two Southwest Airlines planes declared emergencies while landing in Baltimore this week (file photo)

At the end of its three-hour flight the plane was met by firefighters and paramedics when it landed without incident at the airport south of central Baltimore.

Southwest Airlines removed the plane from service for inspection and repairs. It was scheduled to continue on to Detroit, and those passengers were put on a different plane.

It was the second emergency landing this week involving a Southwest Airlines plane at Baltimore Washington International Airport.

On Wednesday night, a pilot declared an in-flight emergency after a passenger set off an alarm while smoking an e-cigarette in the forward lavatory.