Twelve people were rushed to the hospital on Thursday in Colorado after an American Airlines flight caught fire as it was taxiing on the tarmac moments after it had been forced into an emergency landing when the crew heard “engine vibrations.”
Dramatic videos and pictures posted to social media showed passengers standing on the wings of the Boeing 737-800 as the flames engulfed the underside of the aircraft. Those passengers were eventually brought to safety via slides.
According to FlightAware, the flight departed Colorado Springs at 4:52 p.m., bound for Dallas-Fort Worth. At 5:14, the flight was diverted. It landed in Denver at 5:55 p.m.
One passenger told CBS Colorado that shortly after the landing, passengers began to notice a “weird burning plastic smell.”
“Then everybody started screaming and saying there was a fire,” Gabrielle Hibbitts, who was traveling with her mother and sister, said.
“It was surreal. I was like, ‘Is this gonna blow up. … What’s happening here? Are they gonna be able to put out the fire?’ 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,” her mother Ingrid Hibbits added.
A spokesperson for American Airlines has said that the plane suffered an “engine-related” issue as it made its way to the gate, which caused the fire at 6:00 p.m.
“We thank our crew members, DEN team and first responders for their quick and decisive action with the safety of everyone on board and on the ground as the priority,” the AA statement read. The fire was eventually knocked down by Denver International Airport firefighters.
Passengers’ luggage was safely removed from the plane, and they flew on to Texas around 1 a.m. local time.
The FAA has said that the cause of the engine vibrating and the cause of the fire remain under investigation.
CBS News transportation safety analyst Robert Sumwalt admitted that he was baffled as to how a fire would start while the plane was taxiing to the runway. He said that aspect would likely be key in any investigation.
According to air traffic control audio, the pilot notified air traffic controllers in Denver that the plane was experiencing engine issues, but it was not an emergency.
“American 10,006, uh, 1006 – just to verify: not an emergency still, correct?” the controller asked in audio captured on LiveATC.net.
“Nah, we just have a high engine vibration so we are cruising slower than normal,” the pilot said.
But several minutes later, after the plane landed, someone on the radio yelled “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! Mayday! Engine fire!”
Airline officials confirmed that the 172 passengers and six crew members were then transported to the terminal.
There were no reports of serious injuries, but twelve passengers were confirmed to be in local hospitals on Thursday night.
The news follows a spate of aviation disasters and close calls that have stoked fears about air travel despite flying remaining a very safe mode of transport.
Recent on-the-ground incidents have included a plane that crashed and flipped over upon landing in Toronto and a Japan Airlines plane that clipped a parked Delta plane while it was taxiing at the Seattle airport.
