Tires of fire: Plane evacuated after wheels start burning (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
A Spirit Airlines plane was evacuated at Texas’ Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) Airport after its wheels caught fire. It was the second aircraft to undergo emergency evacuation procedures Thursday afternoon due to incendiary issues. Three people were injured.
The landing gear of Spirit Airlines flight 407 burst into flames as it landed in Dallas at 12:30 p.m. local time. It was taxiing to the gate when the crew disclosed a possible brake fire, KTVT reported, citing the Federal Aviation Administration.
They bragged about getting us here quickly...looks like it was a little too fast pic.twitter.com/rQeWkOkJc5
— Payton Ballesteros (@paytonb424) July 30, 2015According to passenger tweets, the flight crew “bragged about getting us here quickly” from Orlando, Florida, but then remained mute on the emergency once the plane was on the ground.
@SpiritAirlines you are very chatty during flight but when plane is on fire...nothing??? Sitting for 12 minutes now and no word of plan
— Dave Ballesteros (@dball70) July 30, 2015The tire fire was extinguished quickly by the DFW fire department. No one was hurt as the passengers deplaned, and the aircraft was towed to the gate.
Spirit Airlines flight 407 from MCO experienced a small fire on one landing gear tire, which was quickly extinguished by #DFW fire services.
— DFW Airport (@dfwairport) July 30, 2015"The fire was put out in less than five minutes," passenger Ryan Duong told WFAA.
So uh, my plane caught fire. Cool. pic.twitter.com/Kkm4JrZdLq
— Phi (@ryan_d97) July 30, 2015The evacuation of the Spirit plane occurred shortly after an American Airlines (AA) flight bound for Chicago, Illinois was evacuated at DFW after reports of possible smoke in the cabin.
"The flight was ready for departure when the incident occurred. Our fleet service team was still on the ramp and assisted passengers and crew with a successful evacuation of the aircraft," American Airlines’ Director of Communications Andrea Huguely said in a statement.
Gate A14 at DFW Airport. Fire dept on scene. Exit doors and emergency slide used. #news#AmericanAirlines#DFW#fbppic.twitter.com/GFTYG4GaN8
— Brandon Sullivan (@BTSullivan91) July 30, 2015The 141 passengers and five crew members on AA flight 1658 were evacuated from the McDonnell Douglas-80 (MD-80) via emergency slides on the tarmac. Three people received minor injuries during the deplaning process.
Happening right now... DFW Terminal A, Gate A14 area. American MD80 all slides deployed, multiple Fire & Police on scene as well as U.S. Customs Canine. Doesn't look like a drill.
Posted by Rick Lasky's Pride and Ownership on Thursday, July 30, 2015
There was no fire, but the passengers were placed on another aircraft, AP reported.
American Airlines is phasing out its MD-80 aircraft, which average 23 years old, or nearly double the rest of their fleet’s age of 12 years. American is set to replace all of the 140-seat airplanes by the end of 2017, the company’s chief financial officer, Derek Kerr, said last Friday, according to the Dallas Morning News.
