Passengers evacuate onto wing of burning American Airlines jet

DENVER — Dozens of passengers were forced to stand on the wing of an American Airlines plane at Denver International Airport as they evacuated the aircraft after one of its engines caught fire Thursday evening, sending thick black smoke billowing into the air.

American Airlines Flight 1006, a Boeing 737-800 en route to Dallas-Fort Worth from Colorado Springs with 172 passengers and six crew aboard, diverted to Denver around 5:15 p.m. local time, after the crew reported “engine vibrations,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

“After landing and while taxiing to the gate an engine caught fire,” the statement said. The FAA is investigating.

The plane arrived at gate C38, where it caught fire, a Denver International Airport spokesperson told CNN. The fire was extinguished and all passengers were evacuated, the spokesperson said.

Images from the scene show dozens of passengers exiting the aircraft and standing on the wing as smoke filled the air.

Twelve passengers were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, Denver Fire Department told CNN.

“We thank our crew members, DEN team and first responders for their quick and decisive action with the safety of everyone on board and on the ground as the priority,” American Airlines said in a statement.

Video captured by a Montana woman inside the airport waiting for a connecting flight shows a large cloud of smoke emanating from the plane and dozens of passengers running away.

Kristal Leonard, who was flying in from Helena, Montana, told CNN she was waiting inside the Denver International Airport for her connecting flight to Colorado Springs. That is when she looked outside and saw flames and smoke engulfing the plane.

“I was terrified for those passengers,” Leonard said. “I can’t even imagine how scared they must’ve been.”

Ground crews appeared to extinguish the fire relatively quickly, according to a video filmed by a passenger inside the airport. Footage shows bright orange flames and black smoke disappearing and turning into a misty white haze as workers put out the fire.

American Airlines is sending a replacement aircraft and crew to Denver to help customers continue on to Dallas, the airline said.

Thursday’s plane engine fire comes just three weeks after a Delta Air Lines flight crashed, turned upside down and caught fire on the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

That incident was preceded by deadly crashes this year in Alaska, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC, where an American Airlines plane collided midair with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter in January, killing 67 people.

In December, aviation disasters in South Korea and Kazakhstan killed more than 200 people. — CNN