Panic on the Runway: American Airlines Plane Catches Fire with 182 Onboard
A Miami-bound American Airlines flight turned into a terrifying scene on Saturday when smoke and flames were seen erupting from the aircraft moments before takeoff.
The Boeing 737 MAX 8, carrying 176 passengers and six crew members, was on the runway at Denver International Airport preparing for takeoff when a loud “boom” stopped everything.
Passengers aboard the flight described the sound as a sharp, powerful bang—then came the smell of smoke.
Mark Tsurkis, 50, one of the passengers, recalled the chilling moment:
“There was a really loud boom. When the plane came to a stop, maybe 30 seconds or a minute later, someone yelled ‘Smoke! Fire!’ And then people started to panic.”
Emergency slides were immediately deployed. All 182 individuals on board were evacuated directly onto the tarmac. Chaos unfolded on the runway as plumes of smoke billowed from beneath the aircraft.
Air traffic control recordings revealed just how quickly things escalated.
“You’ve got a lot of smoke,” one controller warned the cockpit.
It was later confirmed that the source of the fire was a technical malfunction—specifically, an issue with one of the aircraft’s tires. The damage forced pilots to abort takeoff mid-runway, a move that likely prevented a disaster.
Emergency response teams rushed to the scene as evacuation procedures unfolded. Fortunately, only one person required medical attention and was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries, according to ABC News.
The plane involved was a Boeing 737 MAX 8, a model that has been under scrutiny in recent years due to safety concerns, although this particular incident does not appear related to its design but rather to maintenance or tire failure.
American Airlines issued a statement confirming the evacuation and expressed gratitude for the crew’s fast response. The airline also arranged a replacement flight for all passengers, which successfully departed for Miami later that evening.
This incident adds to a growing list of tense moments involving aircraft in recent months, raising further questions about pre-flight safety inspections and mechanical reliability across the aviation industry.
For the passengers on that flight, however, it wasn’t about mechanics or policies—it was about survival.
As one traveler summed it up while standing barefoot on the tarmac:
“We thought we were about to take off. We had no idea we were seconds away from an emergency.”
