Investigation Underway Into Plane Fire At Denver Airport
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DENVER, COLORADO (CBSMiami) – Passengers on board a Skywest Jet lived through frightening moments when the jet caught fire after it landed in Denver, Colorado.
Video shows part of the plane in flames on the runway Sunday afternoon. All 63 passengers and crew members were evacuated safely. Investigators are still working to find out how it started.
First responders worked quickly Sunday afternoon, spraying foam to douse the flames after an engine caught fire on a CRJ 700 regional jet.
It happened just after the plane landed at Denver International Airport around 2:15 p.m. after taking off from Aspen, Colorado about a half-hour earlier.
"All fire is extinguished. When you get on scene, I want you to go in and start search and rescue efforts inside the aircraft."
"Looking at the picture. I saw some fuel dripping at the bottom of the engine," said Captain Ross Aimer. "That looks like it'll be some sort of ruptured fuel line."
Flight 5869 was a united express flight operated by Skywest Airlines with 59 passengers and four crew members who used the stairs to evacuate since the aircraft was not equipped with slides.
No one was hurt.
In a statement, Skywest said the plane "experienced engine issues."
The Federal Aviation Administration says the plane reported a "tire on fire" which then spread to the "engine cowling."
"Probably a piece of tire acted as a shrapnel getting thrown into the engine cowling, which is the intake of the engine," said Aimer. "And a piece of hot tire caused the fan blades perhaps to fail and the engine caught fire."
The plane has been taken out of service while the FAA works to determine the exact cause of the fire.
