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Plane-load of passengers evacuated from Delta flight after tyres burst into flames
Passengers praised airline for ‘amazing’ response
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Your support makes all the difference.Almost 200 passengers had to be evacuated from a plane after its tyres caught fire and burst upon landing.
The Delta Boeing 757 was arriving into Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday evening with 190 passengers on board when the accident occurred, reports USA Today.
Video footage shows people using the emergency inflatable slide to exit the aircraft.
“The Delta team was extremely organised and professional with no panic,” Bruce Campbell, a passenger who had travelled aboard the plane, told Atlanta news outlet 11Alive. “There are probably 100 ground safety personnel here and 20 vehicles, so the response was amazing.”
It is unclear whether anyone was injured during the landing.
Aviation tracking site FlightView shows that the plane left Richmond, Virginia, at 3.56pm and landed in Atlanta at 6.20pm.
"We appreciate the efforts of our flight crew and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport first responders to manage through the safe landing of flight 1437 at our hub this afternoon,” Delta Air Lines said in a statement.
“Initial reports indicate that one of the aircraft’s tyres blew upon landing and components of the landing gear were hot. Customers were evacuated via emergency slides and are being moved to the terminal via bus. We apologise to each for this experience – nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and crew.”
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the incident toThe Independent, adding that they “do not anticipate any effect on air traffic operations”.
Last month, 11 people were injured after a Cathay Pacific flight departing from Hong Kong was forced to abandon take off, with reports stating a tyre overheated before bursting.
In February, the engine on a Russian plane carrying more than 300 passengers burst into flames as it departed Phuket airport en route to Moscow. Landing gear was also set alight on the right-hand side of the aircraft.
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