Aircraft catches fire after landing in Denver, sending passengers onto
wing as smoke engulfs plane
[March 15, 2025]
By THOMAS PEIPERT, SARAH BRUMFIELD, JESSE BEDAYN, COLLEEN
SLEVIN and MATTHEW BROWN
DENVER (AP) — A fire on an American Airlines plane after it diverted
mid-flight and landed at Denver International Airport sent passengers
fleeing onto a wing in a fraught evacuation amid billowing clouds of
smoke. Airport officials said 12 people were taken to hospitals with
minor injuries.
The country has seen a recent spate of aviation disasters and close
calls stoking fears about air travel, though flying remains a safe way
to travel. Recent on-the-ground accidents included a plane that crashed
and flipped over upon landing in Toronto and a Japan Airlines plane that
clipped a parked Delta plane while it was taxiing at the Seattle
airport.
Flight 1006 was headed from the Colorado Springs to Dallas Fort Worth on
Thursday but diverted to Denver after the crew reported engine
vibrations. It landed safely around 5:15 p.m., the Federal Aviation
Administration said in a statement. An engine on the Boeing 737-800
caught fire as it taxied to the gate, the FAA added.
Passengers described people exiting the plane onto its left wing, as an
engine beneath the right wing burned and black smoke surrounded the
aircraft. They lined up and got to the ground using slides and ladders
brought over by ground crews, according to the FAA, video footage and
passenger interviews.
All 172 passengers and six crew members were safely evacuated,
authorities said. American Airlines referred questions about the 12
people taken to hospitals to local officials.
The damaged plane was seen parked behind a hangar at the airport Friday.
Passengers' accounts of what happened
Passenger Hani Levi said she felt a “very strong vibration” after the
plane took off, followed later by an announcement that there would an
emergency landing emergency landing in Denver because of an apparent
engine problem.
As the plane taxied to the gate, the former military airplane mechanic
from Las Vegas who was sitting in a window seat, saw smoke coming from
the wing and then fire. A passenger said to evacuate, but Levi said some
people were panicking and a mother screamed that she needed to get off
with her two children, one of whom tried to run toward the front of the
plane, she said.
Black smoke filled the cabin as people crowded the exit, but Levi had to
remain seated because a handicapped woman was between her and the aisle.
As they waited for a wheelchair, Levi watched black smoke and flames
spitting from the wing just feet from her seat. People could be heard
jostling to get off the plane in videos Levi took, with one person
saying “orderly, orderly” and another saying “go go.”
“I chose to stay calm,” said Levi, who said she tried not to breathe
deeply to avoid inhaling the smoke.
Passenger Daniel Friedman said he started thinking about writing a
eulogy as the chaotic evacuation unfolded. He described people pushing
and shoving to get off.
“Really I just wanted to make sure we got here safe and didn’t know if
it was going to happen or not,” Friedman told WRAL-TV, “I don’t wish
that upon anybody.”
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An American Airlines jetliner that caught fire after landing
Thursday at Denver International Airport sits near a hangar at the
airport Friday, March 14, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David
Zalubowski)
Twelve people were treated at the University of Colorado Hospital in
Aurora Thursday night and released, the hospital said Friday.
A replacement plane and crew took passengers to Dallas-Fort Worth, the
airline said. The flight landed Friday around 5 a.m. local time,
according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.
How common are airplane engine fires?
American Airlines said in a statement that the flight experienced an
engine-related issue after taxiing to the gate. There was no immediate
clarification on exactly when the plane caught fire.
Engine fires are rare, and crews trained to deal with them, aviation
expert Steven Wallace said. They typically are not catastrophic even if
they occur in the air because planes can fly with a single engine, he
said.
“A pilot going to work for an airline today could likely fly for 30
years and never experience an engine failure,” said Wallace, a former
director of the FAA’s accident investigations office.
Two engine fires made news in recent weeks: a fire on a United Airlines
flight Feb. 2 as it was preparing to take off from Houston and a March 1
fire on a FedEx cargo plane that made an emergency landing in New Jersey
following a bird strike.
Former National Transportation Safety Board Chairman James Hall said the
reported engine vibrations on the American flight were unusual but a
slew of problems could have caused them and a fire, making it difficult
to speculate on.
As for the recent spate of aviation incidents, “given the past history,
you can classify it as unusual,” said Hall, but “I don’t know if you
have enough information to draw any conclusions.”
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board said they will
investigate.
The plane was built in 2012 with an engine from CFM International.
Boeing declined comment, and CFM did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
In a statement, American Airlines thanked its employees and first
responders “for their quick and decisive action” following the accident.
Colorado resident Ian Paisley was flying from Denver to Hawaii on Friday
with his family and heard about Thursday’s fire but didn’t think that it
would change their plans.
“We can have confidence that even though these are terrible things that
happen and very frightening for people, that for most of us it’s not
going to be something that affects our lives,” he said.
___
Brumfield reported from Washington and Brown reported from Billings,
Montana.
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