Passenger onboard plane evacuated on runway of Denver International Airport speaks out about incident

7NEWS

27-07-2025

A passenger onboard an American Airlines flight that was evacuated on the runway of Denver International Airport has detailed the terrifying ordeal.
Mark Tsurkis was onboard the Miami-bound Boeing 737 MAX 8 alongside 172 other passengers on Saturday when travellers and crew were forced to flee the plane moments before take-off.
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Passengers heard a loud bang and saw flames before being evacuated on a slide attached to the plane.
Tsurkis filmed the entire incident, showing passengers coming down the slide in a panic clinging onto luggage and children.
Smoke was seen billowing from the back of the aircraft.
Tsurkis said the plane had been speeding up for about 30 seconds in preparation for take-off when there was a 'loud boom' from under the aircraft.
'We knew something was wrong because there was a pretty big bang and then and soon as it happened the captain of the plane, the pilot, starts … slowing the plane down and then when he was slowing the plane down, when the plane was still moving, one of the passengers screamed 'look the tyre',' he told Sunrise.
'We knew we weren't flying anywhere, we knew something serious happened and then we started smelling the smoke a little bit. Somebody screamed fire.'
It appeared as though one of the tyres had blown up, Tsurkis said, and passengers were quickly told to evacuate.
Being in the front row, Tsurkis was one of the first people to get off the plane.
Passengers were told to leave their luggage behind as is common protocol during a plane evacuation, however multiple passengers were seen in Tsurkis' video carrying small suitcases down the slide.
Tsurkis said he couldn't believe so many people had disobeyed the instructions.
'First thing they (the crew) told all the passengers, they said 'leave your luggage … do not touch it just go, just vacate the plane' and despite the clear message from the crew, some of the passengers decided that material things were more important to them than human life,' he said.
'When I got out of the plane I grabbed my phone I started recording and then you start seeing people coming out with the luggage, with bags … it was crazy.'
The combination of blown tires and the deceleration of the plane during braking resulted in a brake fire that was extinguished by the Denver Fire Department, according to American Airlines.
'All customers and crew deplaned safely, and the aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team. We thank our team members for their professionalism and apologise to our customers for their experience,' the airline said.
Five people were evaluated at the scene, and another person was evaluated at a gate and taken to the hospital with a minor injury, according to the airport and airline.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.
The evacuation is the latest in a string of alarming aviation incidents at Denver International Airport – the sixth-busiest airport in the world.
In March, dozens of passengers were forced to stand on the wing of an American Airlines plane as they evacuated the aircraft after one of its engines caught fire.
A month later, a United Airlines plane hit an animal on take-off and shot out fire.
— With CNN