Twelve passengers were treated for minor injuries after an American Airlines jet caught fire upon landing in Denver. More than 170 passengers and six crew members were evacuated from an American Airlines flight on Thursday after its engine caught fire during landing at Denver International Airport. The Boeing 737-800 aircraft had been outbound from Colorado Springs and was en route to Dallas when the incident occurred.
The flight was diverted to Denver after crew members reported engine vibrations. The plane safely touched down at approximately 5:15pm local time (23:15 GMT). Once on the ground, the aircraft was able to taxi to the gate, but shortly afterwards, it encountered an engine-related issue.
In a statement, American Airlines confirmed that all 172 passengers and six crew members successfully evacuated the plane and were moved to the terminal. Twelve passengers with minor injuries were treated at a local hospital for further evaluation, although none of the injuries appeared to be severe.
Dramatic footage from the scene showed passengers climbing out of emergency doors and onto the plane’s wings as they evacuated.
This incident follows a series of significant aviation events. Earlier in January, a midair collision between an American Airlines flight and a U.S. Army helicopter near Washington, DC, tragically claimed the lives of 67 people. Furthermore, last month, a Delta Air Lines regional jet flipped upside down upon landing in Toronto, Canada, following a snowstorm and high winds. Eighteen passengers were injured in that incident, though all survived.
American Airlines and other major airlines have faced increased scrutiny in light of these recent accidents, as CEOs, including Robert Isom of American Airlines and Ed Bastian of Delta, have highlighted both weather-related disruptions and air crashes as contributing factors to declining travel demand in the United States, alongside broader economic concerns.
