'I thought it was the day I was going to die': Horrified passengers of American Airlines flight watched smoke seep into the plane after engine caught on fire just SECONDS before takeoff in explosion that injured 21
- Flight 383 departed Chicago for Miami on Friday afternoon and blew a tire
- Incident damaged an engine, prompting pilot to abort the takeoff
- All 161 passengers and nine crew members were able to evacuate
- Footage showed a large plume of black smoke coming from Boeing 767
- 20 people were taken to the hospital for minor injuries they suffered while sliding down the escape chutes during the rapid evacuation
Twenty passengers had to be hospitalized after an American Airlines plane burst into flames on the runway at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Friday afternoon.
The horrifying scene was captured by one passenger who filmed the chaos inside the plane as everyone tried to get out of the burning aircraft.
American Airlines Flight 383 was departing for Miami and just seconds away from takeoff when there was a sudden explosion on the Boeing 767 plane.
‘Let’s go, let’s go,’ the passengers yelled as they tried to rush each other out of the plane, some of them hysterically screaming as others first tried to grab their bags.
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American Airlines Flight 383 departed Chicago for Miami on Friday afternoon when it blew a tire and damaged an engine, causing the ride side of the plane to burst into flames
Hector Cardenas captured the terror of his fellow passengers, who were begging each other to leave the plane faster after it caught on fire
Sarah Ahmed, one of the last people to leave the plane, said the scene was absolute 'chaos' and described a 'stampede' of people trying to get off the aircraft
The pilot aborted takeoff around 2.35pm and 161 passengers, nine crew members and a dog were forced to evacuate on the runway.
Hector Cardenas captured the terror of his fellow passengers, who were begging each other to leave the plane faster after it caught on fire.
'Please let us out too,' someone can be heard saying in the video as the passengers line up to go down the escape chute slides.
'F*****g go,' one man screams as another woman simply wails 'Please' as she tries to get to the exit faster.
Cardenas then goes down the slide and lets out a scream as the passengers begin falling on top of each other before reaching the tarmac.
'Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,' Cardenas can be heard saying from behind the camera as he turns it on the plane, a massive cloud of black smoke filling the air.
Sarah Ahmed, one of the last people off the plane, said smoke began to seep into the passenger compartment and she could see flames up against the windows.
Cardenas showed the 'stampede' of people trying to get out of the plane, before letting out a scream on the escape chute as the passengers begin falling on top of each other
Passengers rushed to get down the slide and away from the plane as huge flames erupted from the right side of the aircraft
Ahmed said everyone in the plane immediately began to panic.
'It was chaos,' she told WLSTV. 'I thought it was the day I was going to die.'
'We were almost up in the air. We were full throttle, full speed ahead and then we heard this huge bang and there's fire at the window.'
Ahmed said everyone on the right side of the plane jumped up and ran to the left side.
The plane screeched to a stop and a 'stampede' of passengers immediately began to yell 'open the door, open the door!'.
'Everyone's screaming and jumping on top of each other to open the door,' she said.
Large plumes of black smoke filled the air as frantic passengers slide down escape chutes on the left side of the plane to escape
The pilot aborted takeoff around 2.35pm and 161 passengers and nine crew members were forced to evacuate on the runway
'Within that time, I think it was seven seconds, there was now smoke in the plane and the fire is right up against the window.'
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the plane made an emergency stop around 2.35pm after experiencing a problem during takeoff.
An earlier FAA statement said the plane had blown a tire, but officials later deleted that information from the statement.
American Airlines said in a statement that the takeoff was aborted due to 'an engine-related mechanical issue'.
A federal official said the flight experienced an 'uncontained engine failure', in which engine parts break off and are spewed outside the engine.
The danger of such a failure is that engine pieces effectively become shrapnel and can cause extensive damage to the aircraft.
The official wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the incident and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Chicago Fire Department Chief Timothy Sampey said the 20 people who were hospitalized had suffered minor injuries during the rapid evacuation down the plane's escape chutes.
American Airlines said one flight attendant also suffered non-critical injuries.
The injuries mainly consisted of minor bruising and ankle injuries.
'This could have been devastating if it had happened later,' Sampey added.
Passenger Gary Schiavone was sitting in the middle of the plane when he saw a 'big, red ball of flame' in the window, which then cracked due to the heat.
'Twenty seconds later, we would've been up in the air,' he told ABC News. 'We would've been done.'
Chicago Fire Department Chief Timothy Sampey said the 20 people who were hospitalized had suffered minor injuries during the rapid evacuation
Passengers could be seen walking on the grass, some holding their luggage, after the escape
The Federal Aviation Administration tweeted this statement on Friday afternoon, saying the Boeing 767 had blown a tire at 2:35 pm
Schiavone noted that the explosion rang out as the passengers were 30 seconds into watching the safety video - which just happened to be on the instruction that they should not grab their luggage during an emergency.
'It could have caused a big problem,' Schiavone told NBC Chicago. 'Don't get your luggage in a situation like that.'
Firefighters were on the scene in less than 90 seconds, officials said.
But that was enough time for the fire to consume the plane's right-side engine and wing.
A chemical foam and dry chemical was then used to knock out the fire, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Firefighters remained at the scene for several hours as they put out 'hot spots' on the plane.
At least six ambulances responded to the scene and passengers were bused back to the terminal.
American Airlines said it was operating a special flight to take the passengers to Miami on Friday night.
Some passengers at the airport could see the large cloud of smoke from their gate's window
Firefighters were on the scene in less than 90 seconds, but that was enough time for the fire to consume to the plane's right-side engine and wing (pictured here covered in soot)
Jose Castillo, whose father was on the flight, said the passengers were told it would be three to four days before they would receive the belongings they left on the plane.
The runway was closed immediately after the evacuation as the FAA was called to investigate.
Four of the airport's eight runways are currently open, which O'Hare officials said is enough to handle the night's traffic.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
Another plane burst into flames on Friday at a Fort Lauderdale runway in Florida.
The landing gear of FedEx Flight 910, which was arriving from Memphis, collapsed after it touched down at the airport, according to NBC Miami.
The plane skidded down the runway before it caught on fire.
Firefighters extinguished the flames with foam and the runway was temporarily shut down. It wasn't immediately clear if there were any injuries.
- American Airline...
- At Chicago O'Hare, American 767 catches fire on runway - CNN.com
- 20 Injured After American Airlines Plane Catches Fire at Chicago's O'Hare Airport - ABC News
- Plane catches fire at O'Hare: ‘big, red ball of flames’ — 20 hurt | Chicago Sun-Times
- FedEx Plane Catches Fire at Fort Lauderdale Airport | NBC 6 South Florida
- Officials: 20 sustain minor injuries in O'Hare plane fire | abc7chicago.com
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