A US passenger plane caught fire at Denver International Airport’s runaway right before the departure, leaving people on board in panic and chaos.
American Airlines Flight 3023 was departing from Denver International Airport to Miami earlier on Saturday, July 26, but experienced a "maintenance issue" while accelerating ahead of take-off.
According to FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), more than 150 passengers on Boeing 737-MAX8 were evacuated on to the runaway after a "possible landing gear issue".
People on board, got panicky after they heard a loud bang and saw flames before getting evacuated via a slide attached to the plane.
Video aired by local media showed people sliding down the inflatable slide from the front side of the plane while clutching luggage and small children.
Some passengers including at least one adult carrying a young child, tripped at the end of the slide and fell onto the concrete runaway.
While talking toThe Associated Press, A 17-year-old passenger named Shay Armisteaz from Minturn, Colorado, described a chaotic scene: "After hearing loud ‘boom’, the plane started to shake violently and we were drifting to the side of the runaway."
"One passenger was screaming 'we all gonna die', while another passenger was not sitting down and cooperating, so it was kind of just a lot of panic," he added.
Another passenger Gustafson said she knew something was wrong when heard big boom and saw flames coming out from under the plane.
"That’s when I started fully panicking," she specified.
It has been reported that the combination of blown tires and the deceleration of the plane during braking resulted in a brake fire.
The Denver Fire Department informed that the firefighters extinguished fire on the aircraft and passengers were rebooked on later flights.
One of the passengers got minor injury but no causalities reported.
According to the American Airline, "All 173 passengers and crew members deplaned safely and the aircraft was taken out of service to get examined by our maintenance team."