Passengers evacuated after American Airlines aircraft catches hearth at Denver Airport

Passengers aboard a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 that took a dramatic plunge to keep away from an oncoming plane had been informed by the pilot that they practically struck one other aircraft earlier than touchdown safely in Las Vegas.

The incident occurred on American Airlines Flight 3023, which was scheduled to fly from Denver to Miami. The downside was reported whereas the plane was nonetheless on the runway.

The Denver Fire Department mentioned it responded to the incident and managed to extinguish the fireplace. “All 173 passengers and 6 crew members on board the Boeing 737 Max 8 had been safely faraway from the plane,” Fox News reported. Five individuals had been evaluated for accidents however didn’t require hospitalisation. However, one individual was taken to a medical facility for a minor damage, in line with Fox News.

In a press release to Fox Business, American Airlines mentioned, “American Airlines Flight 3023 skilled a mechanical concern on take-off roll at Denver International Airport (DEN). All clients and crew members deplaned safely, and the plane was taken out of service for inspection by our upkeep crew. We thank our crew members for his or her professionalism and apologise to our clients for his or her expertise.”

The airline confirmed that the plane had a upkeep concern with a tyre, and the affected passengers would journey to Miami on a substitute flight later the identical day.

Caitlin Burdi, who was on the flight, mentioned it took a brief plunge after which a extra drastic drop as passengers screamed in terror.

“We actually thought we had been plummeting to a aircraft crash,” Burdi informed Fox News Digital in an interview on the Las Vegas airport. She mentioned the pilot informed passengers that they had practically collided with one other aircraft.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mentioned the flight, Southwest 1496, was responding to an onboard alert about one other plane in its neighborhood. The FAA is investigating. Southwest mentioned the crew responded to 2 alerts that required the pilot to climb then descend. The flight left Hollywood Burbank Airport simply earlier than midday.

Another passenger was panicking and mentioned that she wished “to get off this aircraft”. The aircraft was in the identical airspace close to Burbank as a Hawker Hunter Mk. 58, in line with the flight monitoring website FlightConscious. Records present it’s owned by Hawker Hunter Aviation, a British defence contracting firm.

Southwest mentioned the flight continued to Las Vegas, “the place it landed uneventfully”. The airline mentioned that it’s working with the FAA “to additional perceive the circumstances” of the occasion.

This shut name is simply the newest incident to lift questions on aviation security within the wake of January’s midair collision over Washington, D.C., that killed 67 individuals.