An American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Denver Airport on Saturday after the landing gear failed, causing a fire and smoke to billow from the runway.
An emergency evacuation was conducted, and all 173 passengers were safely evacuated.
Authorities said one person suffered minor injuries.
The Boeing 737 MAX 8, flight AA-3023, was en route to Miami when the incident occurred. The airline later said it had developed a maintenance issue with a tire.
Dramatic rescue footage showed terrified passengers sliding off the plane, with the landing gear on fire. Smoke filled the area as passengers emerged one by one.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the plane reported a landing gear incident at approximately 2:45 p.m. local time as it was taking off from Denver International Airport, and passengers were evacuated from the runway and transported to the terminal by bus.
The FAA said it is continuing to investigate the fire.
Denver Airport said in a separate statement that the incident occurred while the plane was already on the runway; airport first responders and the Denver Fire Department were notified, and passengers were evacuated. Five people were evaluated at the scene and are not being transported. One person was evaluated at a gate and transported,” they added.
The Denver Fire Department announced the fire was extinguished at about 5:10 p.m.
The plane “experienced a maintenance issue” with a tire on its landing gear, American Airlines said in a statement, adding that “all customers and crew safely disembarked the aircraft, and the aircraft was taken out of service for inspection by our maintenance team.”
Meanwhile, a passenger who was removed from a plane has been criticized for prioritizing his luggage over his child in a potentially life-threatening situation. In the video, he was seen sliding down the plane, holding his child, apparently by the neck, with one hand, and his luggage with the other. He appeared to fall on top of his child after losing his balance after sliding down the slide.
This is the second time in five months that Denver has reported a fire involving a Boeing 737-800. In March, an American Airlines flight to Dallas caught fire at Denver Airport.
