HUNDREDS of passengers were forced to flee a flight in the US using inflatable slides after the engine “caught fire”.
Multiple people were injured as they dramatically evacuated the Delta Air Lines plane in Minneapolis after take off was aborted at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport on Friday morning.
TwitterPassengers evacuate Delta Air Lines plane via emergency slides[/caption]
TwitterFour people were injured in the evacuation[/caption]
The airline said the plane had suffered an engine problem, which came as a snowstorm caused widespread cancellations and delays.
Officials have not yet confirmed if the weather had any impact on the aborted flight.
There were 201 passengers, two pilots and five flight attendants aboard the Boeing 757-300 during the incident at 9.10am local time.
Footage shows them sliding off the aircraft onto the tarmac. They were then taken back to the concourse by bus.
Four people are reported to have been injured during the evacuation – with one taken to hospital and the other three treated at the scene.
Passenger Curtis Thomas told CNN: “On takeoff, something went wrong and engine caught fire. Had to emergency evacuate the plane.”
Passenger Allison Wade shot a video during the evacuation which has been shared on social media.
In the footage she says: “There’s smoke still billowing out of there.
“This is crazy, so now we’re all standing out here, in Atlanta. We’re standing out here in the snow.”
Delta spokesperson Morgan Durrant said the flight crew “followed established procedures to suspend the takeoff.”
He added: “Nothing is more important than the safety of our people and customers, and we apologize to our customers for their experience.
“We are working to support our customers and get them to their destinations as safely and quickly as possible.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said it would investigate.
All five of the airport’s runways were closed on Friday, and Delta confirmed it had cancelled around 500 flights there.
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