Dozens of passengers went onto the wing of an American Airlines plane on Thursday evening as thick black smoke poured from a burning engine at Denver International Airport.
This plane evacuation marks the latest in a string of aviation incidents raising global airplane safety concerns.
American Airlines Flight 1006, a Boeing 737-800 carrying 172 passengers and six crew from Colorado Springs to Dallas-Fort Worth, diverted to Denver around 5:15 pm MST after pilots reported engine vibrations, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
While taxiing after landing, the engine caught fire, forcing an emergency evacuation.
Air traffic control audio obtained by LiveATC captured the crew initially downplaying the issue.
Minutes later, a frantic “Mayday!” call signalled the crisis.
Video showed the passengers fled via slides or onto the wing as smoke came from the engine.
Denver Fire Department said a dozen people suffered minor injuries.
Kristal Leonard, a Montana traveller awaiting a connecting flight, told CNN she spotted flames coming from the plane.
“I was terrified for those passengers,” said Leonard.
“I can’t imagine how scared they must’ve been.”
American Airlines praised staff and responders for prioritizing safety, adding a replacement aircraft would fly passengers to Dallas.
The incident follows a Delta Airlines plane crash three weeks earlier in Toronto and deadly aviation disasters this year in Alaska, Philadelphia, and Washington DC, where an American Airlines jet collided with a military helicopter in January, killing 67.
“We just have a high engine vibration,” the pilot calmly told controllers before the fire erupted.
The FAA is investigating.