An engine in an American Airlines plane caught fire after the plane deviled to Denver on Thursday, forcing the evacuation of passengers using emergency slides, said the Federal Aviation Administration.
The airline said that the 172 passengers and six crew members had left the plane, although Denver’s International Airport said that 12 people were transported to hospitals with minor injuries.
American Airlines Flight 1006 of Colorado Springs in a Boeing 737-800 landed in Denver around 5:15 pm (4:15 am PKT), diverting from his planned destination of Dallas after the crew reported motor vibrations, the FAA said.
Several dramatic passenger videos were published on the wing of the plane when the motor smoke was spilled on social networks.
American Airlines said the plane had landed safely and has been taught at the door when he experienced a “engine -related problem.” We were close (Gate) B44, we just landed from Pittsburgh. We stopped for the windows for a second and saw a flash of sudden fire, followed by a ton of smoke, “said witness Aaron Clark said.
“The fire was very brief and it seemed that it was extinguished quite fast by land teams. The smoke continued for a while and that was when we saw the people who started leaving the rear slides. “
The plane, which is 13 years old according to the Flightradar24 flight tracking website, was equipped with two CFM56 engines manufactured by CFM International, a joint company between GE and Safran.
FAA said it would investigate the incident. A Denver International Airport spokesman said that the fire had extinguished and that flight operations continued as normal. Boeing and GE declined to comment.
The engine fire is the last of a series of high -profile aviation incidents that have asked questions about the security of American aviation, including collision in the air of January 29 of a regional American aircraft of American Airlines and a helicopter of the army that killed 67 people.
Last month, a regional jet of Delta Air Lines turned up at Toronto Pearson airport in Canada in a windy climate after a snowstorm, injuring 18 of the 80 people on board, although all passengers and crew members survived the incident.
The American Airlines CEO, Robert Isom, and the CEO of Delta, Ed Bastian, cited on Tuesday recent air accidents and weather events such as contributing factors to cushion the demand for travel of the United States, along with the growing economic uncertainty.
