Two aircraft belonging to US carriers suffered fires in separate incidents on Friday (Saturday morning, Oct 29, Singapore time).
The first was a Boeing 767 of American Airlines, bound for Miami from Chicago O’Hare International Airport, which left 21 people injured, said officials.
Pilots were forced to abort a takeoff and evacuate passengers from the burning aircraft on a runway at the airport after the airliner experienced what a federal official said was a rare and serious type of engine failure.
American Airlines Flight 383 to Miami experienced an “uncontained engine failure,” in which engine parts break off and are spewed outside the engine, the official said, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The danger of such a failure is that engine pieces effectively become shrapnel and can cause extensive damage to the aircraft.
Flames and heavy black smoke poured from the side of the Boeing 767 jet as it sat on the runway Friday after the aborted takeoff. Footage from the scene showed passengers coming down emergency slides and hurrying across grass next to the runway as emergency vehicles surrounded the plane. The right wing was drooping toward the ground and appeared to have partially melted.
Passenger Sarah Ahmed told WLS-TV the plane was speeding down the runway when she heard an explosion and saw flames and black smoke. She said everyone on the right side of the aircraft jumped from their seats and moved to the left side.
“People are yelling, ‘Open the door! Open the door!’ Everyone's screaming and jumping on top of each other to open the door,'' Ms Ahmed said. “Within that time, I think it was seven seconds, there was now smoke in the plane and the fire is right up against the windows, and it's melting the windows.''
The pilots reported an engine-related mechanical issue and aborted the takeoff, according to American Airlines spokeswoman Leslie Scott.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement that the plane made an emergency stop around 2.35pm after experiencing a problem during takeoff. An earlier FAA statement said the plane had blown a tire, but officials later deleted that information from the statement.
Chicago Deputy Fire Commissioner Timothy Sampey said 20 passengers suffered minor injuries as they used the emergency chutes to evacuate. The airline later confirmed the 20 figure and added that one flight attendant was also injured.
Buses were sent to pick up the passengers and bring them back to the terminal, Scott said. The passengers were to be placed on another flight to Miami Friday evening.
The National Transportation Safety Board will conduct an investigation into the incident, with investigators expected to arrive on the scene Friday evening, spokesman Keith Holloway said.
The aircraft involved in Friday's incident was built in 2003 and is among American's youngest planes of that model. According to data from FlightGlobal, an aviation news and industry data company, at the start of this year the plane had flown more than 47,000 hours and made more than 7,500 cycles _ each takeoff and landing is one cycle. American is flying 767 aircraft that have more than 100,000 hours and 18,000 cycles.
CARGO PLANE CATCHES FIRE
Seperately, a FedEx plane caught fire Friday evening while landing at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
The plane was arriving from Memphis shortly before 6pm. when the fire broke out, said Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles.
The pilots told authorities they believe the left landing gear collapsed on the runway. Both pilots escaped without injury.
The fire, which was contained to the left wing and fuel tank, was put out within minutes of the landing, Mr Jachles said. An inspection determined that the cargo appeared to be undamaged.
Air traffic controllers in Fort Lauderdale issued a ground stop after the flight, and no flights were allowed to leave for a time. The airport's south runway reopened later., but the north runway remained closed for investigation.
FedEx issued a statement that the company was cooperating with authorities. AGENCIES
(culled from www.toadyonline.com)
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