Featured Image Credit: YouTube/CBS Chicago
Topics: American Airlines, US News, Texas, Pilot, World News
Liv Bridge
Topics: American Airlines, US News, Texas, Pilot, World News
Shocking video footage shows the moment a jet burst into flames and forced evacuated passengers to stand on the aircraft's wing.
On Thursday (March 13), an American Airlines plane destined for Texas suddenly burst into flames after landing on the runway of Denver International Airport, forcing almost 200 people to flee from the flames onto the aircraft's wings.
Dozens of passengers could be seen cramming onto the wing while plumes of thick black smoke engulfed the jet.
Advert
Some were also evacuated via the emergency slides while firefighters doused the plane in water.
The Boeing 737-800 had taken off from Colorado Springs at 4.52pm local time, headed for Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport.
However, it was diverted to the Denver airport at 5.15pm after crew members raised the alarm that the jet was suffering from 'engine vibrations,' according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA said: "After landing and while taxiing to the gate an engine caught fire and passengers evacuated the aircraft using the slides."
The American Airlines Flight 1006 was reportedly carrying 172 passengers and six crew members when the engine caught fire as it was taxiing down the tarmac.
The pilot notified air traffic controllers in Denver that the Boeing was experiencing some engine issues but allegedy said it was not an emergency, reports the Independent.
Audio footage of the report reveals the responder said: "American 10,006, uh, 1006 just to verify not an emergency still, correct?”
To which the pilot replied: "Nah, we just have a high engine vibration so we are cruising slower than normal."
However, minutes after its landing, mayday calls were distributed on the radio as personnel could be heard reporting the 'engine fire.'
An airport spokesperson told CNN that the fire was subsequently extinguished and all passengers were successfully evacuated.
Passenger, Gabrielle Hibbitts, recalled the incident to CBS News Colorado.
She said: "As soon as the plane landed, we smelled this weird burning plastic smell and then everybody started screaming and saying there was a fire."
"There was smoke everywhere," she added, while her mom, Ingrid, described the moment as 'surreal' with fears the plane was 'gonna blow up.'
Ingrid continued: "I'm really grateful that this happened on the ground because if this happened in the air, I don't think I'd be standing here telling you the story."
The Denver Fire Department confirmed 12 passengers were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Meanwhile, American Airlines thanked its crew members, Denver team and emergency first responders 'for their quick and decisive action with the safety of everyone on board and on the ground as the priority' in a statement.
The FAA has also said it is launching an investigation into the incident, as per the NY Post.
The news comes as the latest in a series of concerning US aviation crashes and near-misses.
In January, a commercial American Airlines flight crashed with a Black Hawk helicopter near Washington D.C. which killed 67 people.
Days later, another six passengers, including a child patient, plus a person on the ground in Philadelphia, were killed when a medical transportation plane plummeted into a residential area.
Then in February, a commuter plane crashed in Alaska, killing 10 people, and a further 18 were injured when a Delta Airlines plane flipped on its back when landing in Toronto.