A British Airways plane bound for London with 170 people on board has burst into flames on the tarmac at Las Vegas Airport.

The Boeing 777-200 was preparing to take off shortly after 4pm (local time) on Tuesday when its left engine caught fire, sending thick black smoke billowing into the sky.

The 157 passengers and 13 crew were evacuated using emergency slides as around 50 firefighters tackled the blaze, while 13 people were treated in hospital for minor injuries.

In audio recordings, the jet’s pilot, who has been praised for his handling of the emergency, is heard calmly asking for fire crews before telling air traffic control: “We are evacuating on the runway. We have a fire, I repeat, we are evacuating.”

Passengers on flight told how the flight crew suddenly ordered them to evacuate the plane as they realised an engine had burst into flames.



Firefighters stationed at the airport reached the plane two minutes after getting reports of flames, and within five minutes everyone inside the plane had escaped.

British Airways said: “We are looking after customers after an incident involving flight BA2276 due to travel from Las Vegas to London Gatwick Airport.”

Good job on the part of the pilot and rescue team

Pishure or adonbilivit