One of more than 170 passengers who evacuated an American Airlines flight in Denver that was bound for South Florida shared his account of the frightening moments inside the cabin.
Sparks and flames flew from one of the aircraft’s tires during takeoff at Denver International Airport, Saturday afternoon, as 173 passengers and six crew members were preparing to fly out to Miami International Airport.
Cellphone cameras captured the frantic moments that ensued, as passengers scrambled to evacuate and used the plane’s inflated slides to exit the aircraft.
Among them Mark Tsurkis. He spoke with 7News about the ordeal on Sunday.
“As soon as somebody screamed ‘fire,’ people started panicking, and people started screaming and yelling,” he said.
Video shows smoke billowing out of the Boeing 737 Max 8, as well as flames underneath. Some passengers were seen clutching their children.
“Then I looked out of the window, and there was a wheel from the plane, actually passing the plane, on the left side,” said Tsurkis.
The emergency evacuation unfolded after passengers described hearing a loud bang and seeing flames.
“About 10 seconds before we were supposed to lift off, we heard a loud noise, loud boom, from under the plane, like something blew up,” said Tsurkis.
Officials with American Airlines said the combination of blown tires and the deceleration of the plane during braking resulted in the brake fire that was put out by the Denver Fire Department.
Everyone made it out of the plane. Video shows passengers waiting on the tarmac.
Paramedics transported one person to the hospital with minor injuries.
Saturday’s evacuation happened just one day after another scare in the air, when a Southwest Airlines flight traveling from Burbank, California to Las Vegas nearly collided with another plane, causing the pilot to make a drastic drop.
“We plummeted pretty far, and I looked around and everyone’s like, ‘OK, that’s normal,’ and within two seconds, it felt like the ride Tower of Terror where we fell,” said passenger Caitlin Burdi.
American Airlines officials said the plane was taken out of service to be inspected.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the evacuation in Denver.