A Boeing airplane operated by American Airlines accelerated for takeoff when a wheel caught on fire and exploded, setting off a trail of smoke.
American Airlines Flight 590 was taxiing on a runaway at Tampa International Airport on Wednesday morning when its right tire lit ablaze.
The Boeing 737 continued forward on the ground and did not lift off into the air as the tire combusted.
‘Whoa,’ Captain Steven Markovich can be heard saying in a video shared on YouTube.
The plane spotter initially called it a ‘blown engine’, but quickly assessed it for what it was.
‘Oh, oh, blown tire,’ says Markovich. ‘Roll the tracks, roll the tracks, roll the tracks. Emergency, emergency, emergency.’
The aircraft slows to a stop with the wheel still smoking and some sparks still lingering.
‘On fire,’ Markovich says. ‘Oh man, they were so close to taking off.’
A neon-colored airport emergency truck with blaring lights is seen driving toward the plane, which makes a turn and halts on the tarmac.
‘There we go,’ Markovich says. ‘Smoke going out, they’re getting the fire out now.’
Other footage showed firefighters putting out the remaining flames.
Flight 590 was scheduled to depart Tampa around 7.50pm for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Emergency crews responded on the runway just before 8am, said Tampa International Airport spokesman CJ Johnson.
None of the 174 passengers or six crew members aboard were injured, stated American Airlines spokesman Alfredo Garduño. They were bused to the terminal and passengers were re-accommodated on another flight.
The incident did not affect other flights at the Florida airport.
It is under investigation by the FAA.
The Flight 590 tire blew just two days after United Airlines Flight 1001, a Boeing 757-200, lost a wheel just seconds after takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport, in what was the second such occurrence in months.
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