DENVER – A fire on an American Airlines plane after it diverted mid-flight and landed at Denver International Airport sent fleeing passengers to a wing amid billowing clouds of smoke. Airport officials said 12 people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.
The country has seen a recent spate of aviation disasters and close calls stoking fears about air travel, though flying remains 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.
In this latest incident, Flight 1006 was headed from the Colorado Springs Airport to Dallas Fort Worth on Thursday, but diverted to Denver and landed safely around 5:15 p.m. after the crew reported engine vibrations, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. While taxiing to the gate, an engine on the Boeing 737-800 caught fire, the FAA added.
Photos and videos posted by news outlets showed passengers standing on a plane’s wing as smoke surrounded the aircraft. The FAA said passengers exited using the slides.
American said in a statement that the flight experienced an engine-related issue after taxiing to the gate. There was no immediate clarification on exactly when the plane caught fire.
“It’s unusual to have vibrations, obviously, and particularly in light of what happened once on the ground,” said James E. Hall, former chairman of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. Still, he said, a slew of problems could have caused vibrations and a fire, making it difficult to speculate on.
As for the recent spate of aviation incidents, “given the past history, you can classify it as unusual,” said Hall, but “I don’t know if you have enough information to draw any conclusions.”
The 172 passengers and six crew members were taken to the terminal, airline officials said.
After hearing midflight that something was wrong with the engine and they’d have to land, passenger Daniel Friedman said in an interview with a WRAL-TV reporter at the Denver airport that he started thinking about who he would call and in what order and writing a eulogy.
“Really I just wanted to make sure we got here safe and didn’t know if it was going to happen or not,” Friendman said.
When the plane caught fire after landing, flames could be seen right outside the window and people pushed and shoved to get off the plane, Friedman said. Once emergency doors opened, people hopped onto the wing and then onto ladders to get off the plane, he said. He said he scratched his leg jumping off the wing onto a ladder. Once on the ground, Friedman wanted to call friends and family to tell them he loved them.
Friedman said he has concerns that he’s been hearing of so many aviation incidents lately.
“Hopefully this never happens to me or anybody else again because that’s not a good day,” he said. “I don’t wish that upon anybody.”
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board have said they will investigate.
“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,” American Airlines said.
___ Brumfield reported from Washington.
