Around 300 passengers had to evacuate on the runway after their Delta Airlines flight burst into flames. The engine caught ablaze before takeoff. The incident happened in Florida.
Delta Flight 1213 was preparing to take off from Orlando International Airport when the worst happened. One of the engines went up in flames while the plane was still on the tarmac. Fortunately, the incident happened before the flight was able to take off. I imagine things could have beeen much much worse if the plane had been in the air.
The Atlanta bound Delta flight had 282 passengers, 10 crew members, and two pilots on board. After flames erupted around the plane, the passengers and crew members were able to escape the Delta Airbus A330 using emergency slides.
"Delta flight crews followed procedures to evacuate the passenger cabin when flames in the tailpipe of one of the aircraft's two engines were observed," the airline said via New York Post.
Delta Flight Catches Fire
Fortunately, airport crew quickly responded to the incident. They were able to contain the blaze and extinguish the fire. Following the dramatic evacuation, passengers boarded a different plane and were able to make it to their destination.
"We appreciate our customers' cooperation and apologize for the experience. Nothing is more important than safety, and Delta teams will work to get our customers to their final destinations as soon as possible," the airline wrote.
However, viewers blasted Delta Airlines and the aircraft industry online. One person wrote, "Absolutely horrific. I hope there were no passengers on board or that they got off safely and without incident."
Another wrote, "Quality manufacturing.... Why do People even bother flying anymore unless it absolutely required. You get treated like s-t by the airline and the airport and to just this type of stuff to happen as well. Stop flying."
Another person mentioned that things like this aren't new. They wrote, "I'm 81 and I recall an engine fire at the DC National Airport in the 1950s. It was a Capital Airlines DC-3 and the fire seemed to last less than a minute. I was about 9 and remember thinking I would never want to fly Capital. These incidents are often reported these days."
One person had a silver lining, writing, "Looks like the on-board engine fire suppression system worked as it was supposed to anyway."
