Plane Evacuated in Denver After Fire Caused by Landing Gear Issue
More than 150 people had to evacuate an American Airlines plane at Denver International Airport on Saturday after a landing gear problem caused a fire and left one person injured, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 was preparing to take off for Miami when it had a mechanical issue with one of its tires. Emergency teams, including the Denver Fire Department, quickly responded, and everyone on board was safely evacuated onto the runway using emergency slides.
This incident is the latest in a series of recent safety concerns at Denver International Airport, one of the world’s busiest. In March, passengers had to stand on the wing of a plane after an engine caught fire. In April, a different plane hit an animal during takeoff and caught fire.
Saturday’s flight had 173 passengers and six crew members. Witnesses said they heard a loud bang and saw flames before the evacuation began. The fire was caused by a blown tire and the braking system, but was quickly put out by firefighters.
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“All passengers and crew got off safely,” American Airlines said. “The plane is now being checked by our maintenance team. We’re sorry for the experience our passengers went through.”
One person was taken to the hospital with a minor injury, and five others were checked by medical staff at the airport. The plane was supposed to leave around 1:12 p.m., but the incident happened around 2:45 p.m. Due to the emergency, about 240 other flights were delayed.
Passengers will continue their trip to Miami on a different plane. The FAA is now investigating what happened.
One of the passengers, 17-year-old Shay Armistead, said the experience was scary. She was traveling with her ski team to Chile when the plane started shaking and tilting. Her teammate, 16-year-old Margaret Gustafson, saw flames under the plane and began to panic.
“I grabbed my friend’s hand. We didn’t know what was happening,” Gustafson said. Armistead added that one person was screaming, “We’re all gonna die,” while another refused to sit down, making the situation more chaotic.
Passengers slid down the emergency slide at the back of the plane, and the evacuation took about 10 to 15 minutes. Though their ski trip was delayed, the team’s flight was rescheduled for the next morning.
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