American Airlines jet at Denver International Airport evacuated due to landing gear incident
Passengers on board an American Airlines flight at Denver International Airport Saturday afternoon were evacuated due to an incident with the plane's landing gear during takeoff, officials confirmed.
The Denver Fire Department said the problem occurred on board American Airlines Flight 3023 from Denver to Miami International Airport while the plane was still on the runway. The airline reported that all 173 passengers and six crew members on board were safely evacuated off the aircraft. One person was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, the airline said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the crew of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 "reported a possible landing gear incident during departure" at around 2:45 p.m. local time.
Video to Instagram by passenger Mark Tsurkis showed passengers evacuating the aircraft using a slide as smoke and flames billowed from below the rear of the plane.
The passengers were transported to the terminal by bus. The FAA said it is actively investigating the incident.
Tsurkis, a resident of Miami and Colorado Springs, told CBS News Miami the terrifying incident happened right before the plane went airborne.
"During the speed-up, when the plane almost took off, we heard a loud boom, and I said, 'That's not good,'" Tsurkis said.
He went on: "It was definitely an unpleasant moment, but we were lucky that we didn't get up in the air yet, so we weren't airborne just yet, but I would imagine that it happened five to 10 seconds before we were airborne."
Tsurkis said the pilots immediately began to slow the plane down and then brought it to a halt. About a minute later, other passengers began to notice smoke coming up from the aircraft, and evacuations began shortly after, he added.
Five people were evaluated at the scene but were not transported for further treatment, the airport confirmed. However, one person was transported to a hospital for medical attention both the airport and airline confirmed.
American Airlines said in its statement that the aircraft "experienced a maintenance issue prior to takeoff" involving one of its tires and has been taken out of service for inspection. Later Saturday evening, the fire department said that it had extinguished a fire after responding to the aircraft.
The displaced passengers would depart for Miami on a replacement aircraft later Saturday, the airline said.
FlightAware showed at least 306 flights at Denver International Airport had been delayed as of Saturday night. The airport said a ground stop was in place from 2 p.m. until shortly after 3 p.m. for all incoming flights that had not left their departure airports yet. Operations at the airport have since returned to normal.
A separate incident involving an American Airlines aircraft happened at the airport in March when a plane suffered an "engine-related issue" and was diverted to Denver International Airport.
