American Airlines passengers were forced to evacuate after their plane caught on fire at the Denver Airport on Thursday.
Horrifying footage shared on social media showed passengers fleeing to the tarmac as smoke plumed from the plane.
KDVR was informed by Denver International Airport about an aircraft fire that occurred on Thursday evening at gate C38, involving an American Airlines plane, which resulted in ‘visible smoke.’
Footage from the tarmac showed the fire has caused significant damage to the plane, with one area on the right side above the wing charred black.
Emergency slides had been activated and people were seen walking around the tarmac near the aircraft being ushered to safety.
‘Passengers were evacuated and the slides were deployed,’ the airport said.
This incident adds to a series of troubling air accidents involving US passenger planes, such as the recent crash of an American Airlines flight earlier this year that claimed the lives of 67 individuals.
Footage captured from within the airport overlooking the aircraft depicted ground crew setting up ladders beneath the wing in order to assist in the evacuation of individuals.
Portable stairs were eventually stationed at the end of the wing and passengers were helped down to the tarmac where they gathered back inside the airport.
Thick plumes of black smoke were seen billowing into the air in videos shared online.
Emergency services were seen dousing the plane in water while the plane was still stationed at Terminal C of the airport.
One man was seen clutching onto a woman as they carefully navigated the wobbly wing of the aircraft.
The cause of the fire is unknown and it is unclear if anyone was injured.
The American Airlines Washington, DC crash marked the deadliest US air disaster in 24 years, and the first major US commercial passenger flight crash in more than 15 years, following the Colgan Air Flight crash in 2009.
Less than a month later, on February 17, a Delta passenger plane crashed-landed upside down in chaotic scenes at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada.
Miraculously, everyone on board survived after being suspended upside-down by their seatbelts for several minutes until they tentatively began evacuating.
The plane had been heading to Toronto from Minneapolis – Saint Paul International Airport with 76 passengers and four crew members on board.
Some 21 people were taken to the hospital for treatment to minor injuries, and Delta has offered each person a no-strings $30,000 payout in compensation.
And the plane carnage is ongoing – on Sunday, yet another jet crash-landed, this time in a parking lot of a suburban Pennsylvania retirement home.
Dramatic footage showed the Beechcraft A36TC erupt in flames in the parking lot of Brethren Village in Manheim Township. Five people were rushed to hospital.
Medics, ambulances, and emergency vehicles rushed to the scene in Lancaster County as flames engulfed the plane and nearby vehicles.
The plane took off as scheduled on Sunday afternoon, but quickly requested to land back on the tarmac because its door had opened.
Horrifying air traffic control audio revealed the pilot telling ground agents that they needed to turn around – but at one point he said that he couldn’t hear the radio because of all the wind noise, caused by the unlocked hatch.
The air traffic controller can be heard saying: ‘Pull up… the aircraft is down just behind the terminal in the parking lot tree area.’
In a statement to DailyMail.com, an FAA spokesperson said five people were on board the plane. They have all been transferred to local hospitals with various injuries.
Other recent plane horrors include a mid-air collision over Arizona’s Marana Airport on February 19 which killed two people.
One of the planes was left in a pile of rubble and ashes after it crash-landed next to the runway, while the other aircraft landed safely, according to the Associated Press.
