According to the Federal Aviation Administration, an American Airlines plane experienced “engine vibration” after being transferred to Denver International Airport Thursday night, catching fire while taxiing to the gate, prompting dozens of passengers to evacuate.
The airline said the flight was a Boeing 737-800 with 172 passengers and six crew members heading from Colorado Springs to Dallas but was transferred to Denver Airport. The FAA said some passengers used slides to evacuate from the plane.
“After safely landing the gates of Denver International Airport, American Airlines flight 1006 experienced engine-related problems,” the airline said.
Video posted on social media shows passengers standing on the wings of the plane and climbing down a portable staircase to leave the plane. Light gray smoke filled the air. From other perspectives, black smoke can be seen gushing out of the plane and the orange flames at the bottom of the plane.
Video taken by Denver resident Mike Insalata shows a fire below the left engine of the plane. It is not clear whether anyone was injured. F.AA. Investigation is under investigation.
The Denver International Airport episode is the latest in a series of aviation disasters. On February 25, two separate planes, one at the Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington and the other at the Midway International Airport in Chicago, had to abort the landing site to avoid collisions.
Earlier last month, a plane at Toronto Pearson Airport flipped. On February 5, the plane’s wing was pierced at the tail of another plane during a ground collision at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
