by posting their own images

Other attendants have come to Diehl's

A flight attendant is being investigated by her employers for posing for a photo inside the plane's engine.

Ericka Paige Diehl from Gurnee, Illinois, sat in front of the blades on the tarmac of Chicago O'Hare International Airport earlier this month.

Shocked passengers asked the 41-year-old Spirit Airlines attendant what she was doing, and she simply replied: 'Taking a picture.'

The company decided to act, even though the pictures are common practice among those who work in the airline industry.

Controversial: Spirit Airlines employee Ericka Paige Diehel from Gurnee, Illinois, sat in front of the blades on the tarmac of Chicago O'Hare International Airport earlier this month

Commuters then took down the attendant's name during the flight and went to her Facebook page and found her profile was full of similar pictures.

They then contacted the airline, who are considering action as a result.

Diehl told ABC 7 at first she wasn't aware of the pictures on her social media account.

Then she said she 'wasn't at liberty to discuss them.'

However just moments after the station contacted her, the images were deleted and replaced with inspirational messages.

Her Facebook page has now been deleted.

Spirit spokesman Paul Berry said: ' The activity portrayed in the photo absolutely goes against Spirit policy. We will be investigating further and take appropriate action. '

Fellow flight attendant and best selling author Heather Poole has however defended the actions, saying these images are a 'rite of passage'.

Others shocked by the airline's reaction have started sharing their own pictures from inside the engines.

Array: Commuters took down the attendant's name during the flight and went to her Facebook page and found her profile was full of similar pictures

The flight attendant claimed she 'wasn't aware' of the images on her social media account, but moments after a news station contacted her, they were taken down

Backing: Fellow flight attendant and best-selling author Heather Poole uploaded a similar image in support of Diehl, who is now being investigated by her employers

No problem: Poole wrote on Twitter that the pictures are common in the airline industry are common

Support: Other flight attendants also posed for similar photos and uploaded them online