American Airlines Flight Evacuated Due to Landing Gear Incident at Denver International Airport
Denver Airport Plane Crash: American Airlines flight 3023 was evacuated at Denver International Airport Saturday afternoon following a reported landing gear issue during takeoff. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 was evacuated safely with all 173 passengers, six crew, and one passenger. One person received minor injuries.
The Denver Fire Department reports that the incident happened around 2:45 pm local time, while the plane was on the runway preparing to depart for Miami International Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration released a statement confirming that the flight crew had reported an issue with the landing gear just moments before takeoff.
Passengers reported hearing a “boom” as the plane accelerated. Mark Tsurkis from Miami and Colorado Springs, who was a passenger, said, “It definitely wasn’t pleasant, but it is fortunate that we weren’t airborne.” We noticed the smoke coming from the back of the plane a few minutes later. The evacuation was then initiated.
Social media videos showed smoke and fires coming from the back of the aircraft. Firefighters from the Denver Fire Department responded to the incident and quickly extinguished the fire.
Only one person required transport to the hospital. The airport operations were temporarily affected by a temporary ground stop for all arriving flights from 2 pm to shortly after 3 pm. Normal operations were resumed that evening.
American Airlines stated that this incident was caused by a “maintenance problem prior to takeoff” involving one tire of the aircraft. The aircraft has been removed from service to undergo an inspection. The plane was taken out of service for inspection.
FlightAware indicated on Saturday that approximately 306 flights were delayed at Denver International Airport. The incident is the second major one involving a plane from American Airlines at Denver International Airport this year. In March, there was an issue with the engine.
American Airlines
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