Passengers were terrified when a plane had a hard landing and took to the sky again, with smoke appearing from the engine.

The Frontier Airlines jet took off from Orlando, Florida, before attempting to land at San Juan in Puerto Rico on April 15.

But the Airbus A320 hit the runway with a thump, and debris was scattered across the surface. The pilot then performed a go-around, leaving those onboard fearing for their lives.

Passengers reported seeing smoke pouring from the engine before the aircraft made a safe landing on the second attempt.

They were then evacuated by emergency crews.

One flier told local media that the landing 'hit really hard, horrible'.

Pictures showed how one of the wheels was detached from the impact.

Authorities at the Luis Munoz Marin Airport (LMM) said that the incident is under investigation.

Airport Operations Director Nelman Nevarez Padilla said: 'Frontier Flight 3506 suffered a mishap while making its initial landing on runway 10.

'This caused it to take off again and make a second descent on runway 8-26.'

Officials said that 228 passengers who were onboard were evacuated via the taxiway in airport vehicles.

The airport boss added: 'The safety of our passengers is our most important priority, so we're pleased to know everyone is safe. Frontier has activated its protocol to assist passengers.

'As a result of the incident, takeoffs and landings were temporarily delayed, and nearly a dozen flights remained in the air awaiting landing. Two were returned to Fort Lauderdale, and three were diverted to the Aguadilla Airport'