Flames Erupt from Boeing 737 During Takeoff Attempt: 'Emergency, Emergency, Emergency!'
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
One tire on a Boeing 737 exploded and burned July 10 as the jet roared down the runway at Tampa International Airport in Florida.
The incident was seen in a video posted on the YouTube page of Captain Steven Markovitch.
Four seconds into the clip, a tire blew out on what was said to be an American Airlines flight to Phoenix. Smoke and flames could be seen from that wheel. Smoke continued to trail the plane as it moved down the runway.
“Roll the trucks, roll the trucks!” the narrator said.
“Emergency, emergency, emergency!” he called out.
The plane stopped soon after. Fire engines then responded before the aircraft was evacuated.
An American Airlines spokesman told The National Desk the plane “experienced a mechanical issue on the runway prior to taking off.”
No injuries were reported, spokesman Ethan Klapper said.
There were 174 passengers and six crew members on board, Klapper said, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
“Customers safely deplaned and were bused to the terminal,” he said. “We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
Sheri Blankenship of Tampa said she was flying to Phoenix with her granddaughter when the blown tire disrupted her plans, according to WFLA-TV.
“Today was unbelievable,” Blankenship said.
“We get to the airport. Everything was fine,” she said. “We loaded good, got ready to taxi the runway, started down the runway full force. All of a sudden it felt like that we were on a gravel road, like a back road.
“Then it felt like we hit a big pothole in the road.”
Blankenship said she watched the fire being put out while standing on the runway.
“The plane was on fire,” she said. “The landing gear, whatever.”
Blankenship did not want to risk another flight but eventually boarded a replacement flight in spite of her misgivings.
“I didn’t want to get on another plane. I wanted the credit and go to Enterprise,” she said. “I wanted to drive to Phoenix. …
“It was very, very scary.”
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