American Airlines passengers scramble onto wing to flee burning engine as plane lands at Denver airport
Dozens of passengers could be seen crammed onto the wing as clouds of white, then thick black smoke began enveloping the plane. Some passengers evacuated from the aircraft via emergency slides.
The fire was extinguished and all passengers were evacuated, an airport spokesperson told CNN. Twelve passengers were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries, according to the Denver Fire Department.
There were 172 passengers and six crew members aboard,
The engine caught fire as the American Airlines Flight 1006 was taxiing down the runway in Denver.
The Boeing 737-800 aircraft had been headed from Colorado Springs to Dallas-Fort Worth, but was diverted to Denver at 5:15 p.m. when the crew reported 'engine vibrations,' according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.
'After landing and while taxiing to the gate an engine caught fire,' the statement said.
An FAA investigation is ongoing.
People evaluating an American Airlines plane that's on fire at Denver Airport….what is happening pic.twitter.com/TZw23gqK1N
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) March 14, 2025
The pilot notified air traffic controllers in Denver that the plane was experiencing engine issues, but that it was not an emergency, according to air traffic control audio.
'American 10,006, uh, 1006 just to verify not an emergency still, correct?' the controller asked in audio captured on LiveATC.net.
'Nah, we just have a high engine vibration so we are cruising slower than normal,' the pilot said.
But several minutes later after the plane landed, someone on the radio yelled 'Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! Mayday! Engine fire!'
America is on fire… the airline too (Denver airport tonight) pic.twitter.com/qq2x7F8T5M
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) March 14, 2025
One of the plane's passengers, Gabrielle Hibbitts, told CBS News Colorado: "As soon as the plane landed, we smelled this weird burning plastic smell and then everybody started screaming and saying there was a fire."
She said once she and her sister were a safe distance away, "We saw the plane ... and there was smoke everywhere."
Their mother, Ingrid Hibbitts, told CBS: "It was surreal. I was like, 'Is this gonna blow up. ... What's happening here? Are they gonna be able to put out the fire?''
She added: ' I'm really grateful that this happened on the ground because if this happened in the air, I don't think I'd be standing here telling you the story."
American Airlines issued a statement thanking 'our crew members, DEN [Denver] team and first responders for their quick and decisive action with the safety of everyone on board and on the ground as the priority.'
BREAKING: An American Airlines plane carrying 178 people appeared to catch fire on the tarmac after making an emergency landing at Denver International Airport Thursday evening, forcing passengers to evacuate by climbing out onto the wing of the plane. https://t.co/gWlirSyILE pic.twitter.com/AOSU1iB24H
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 14, 2025
The fire was just the latest in a troubling series of serious plane accidents.
An Army helicopter collision with a commercial jet at Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., killed 67 people on January 29.
Just two days later six people onboard and another person on the ground were killed when medical transportation jet crashed in Philadelphia. In early February a commuter plane crashed in western Alaska on its way to Nome, killing all 10 people on board.
On February 18 at least 18 people were injured when a Delta Airlines plane carrying 80 passengers flipped over as it was landing at the Toronto airport. All survived.
The troubling accidents have occurred amid upheaval during the Trump administration as Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has fired FAA personnel.
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