A plane packed with passengers has burst into flames on a Las
Vegas runway just moments before it was set to take off.

The British Airways flight bound for London Gatwick was taxiing on the tarmac at McCarran Airport on Tuesday night when it suddenly caught fire after a catastrophic engine failure.

Terrified travelers on other flights captured the plumes of smoke coming from the Boeing 777 as those on board were forced to jump down inflatable slides and run away from the blaze.

Fourteen people were then taken to hospital for treatment - many
suffering from suspected smoke inhalation while others were hurt when they evacuated.

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There were 159 passengers and 13 crew members on board at the time.

According to preliminary information, the plane experienced a left engine fire on takeoff, said Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration's Pacific Division.

The pilot is heard calling 'mayday' and asking for 'heavy fire services' in a recorded transmission from air traffic control.
One runway was shut but flights continued to depart on remaining
runways as paramedics treated those caught up in the fire.

Jacob Steinberg, a football and tennis writer who was on the flight, Tweeted: 'Just evacuated on a British Airways flight at Las Vegas airport after an engine caught fire. Don't think anyone hurt.

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http://www.dailyafricagist.com/discussion/5058/Headlines/

Nawa oh

I'm not in that aircraft, but I must confess I broke out in a cold sweat, reading this.
What if this incident happened, say, 15 minutes later, when the plane is airborne?
Thank God for his mercies.
I need a glass of cold water right now!

whirlwind7:
I'm not in that aircraft, but I must confess I broke out in a cold sweat, reading this.
What if this incident happened, say, 15 minutes later, when the plane is airborne?
Thank God for his mercies.
I need a glass of cold water right now!

That was the first thing that came to my mind. OMG!

How come they didn't notice the engine fault during their routine checks before take-off?

BA used to be quite reliable. . .

Thank God, it didn't take off.

Thank God no life was lost. A society that works ; fire fighters on ground and respond swiftly, flight attendants, pilot were professional to the core and controlled the situation. Thank God.

D tin means say der tym to die neva reach...Thx God

I posted this before and the admin blocked it

ifyalways:
Thank God no life was lost. A society that works ; fire fighters on ground and respond swiftly, flight attendants, pilot were professional to the core and controlled the situation. Thank God.

Exactly, they all acted so quickly, no life was lost..

In Nigeria, it may have been another story