Posted on 04/21/2023 10:20:17 PM PDT by mabarker1
CHARLOTTE — Passengers on a flight that was about to take off from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport on Thursday got a view that nobody wants to see when they look out the window: flames shooting from the wing.
Frankie Leggington shared video of the incident with Channel 9, adding that the plane had to go back to the terminal Thursday evening.
“We were taking off like normal when the wheels go up, you feel a little bump,” Leggington said. “Then all of a sudden, you hear an explosion.”
The video shows the airplane, an Airbus A321, going down the runway at CLT while smoke and flames are seen from the right wing.
Everyone started to panic, Leggington said.
“Nobody knows what’s happening so it’s everyone’s first instinct, is the plane is going to blow,” Leggington said. “So everyone is grabbing their bags trying to run up and run in the aisle.”
Leggington, who was sitting near an emergency exit, recorded video from her window seat.
She sent the video to other passengers.
“Everyone was trying to panic but we couldn’t go anywhere. That was the biggest scare,” passenger Claire Dundon said.
Channel 9 reached out to American Airlines Friday morning after learning of the incident. AA said in a statement, that flight 2288 to Dallas-Fort Worth reported a “mechanical issue” and safely taxied back to the gate under its own power.
AA says the plane was taken out of service for maintenance. It’s not clear what caused the fire.
No injuries were reported.
FlightRadar24 caught the path of the plane as it went down the runway and then returned to the airport.
According to flight records, the plane that caught fire had landed in Charlotte earlier Thursday after a flight from Rhode Island.
Passengers going to Dallas got on a different plane, but it was canceled because of bad weather.
The airline said it is offering compensation to those passengers.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
Damned straight !!!
They had the same issue with the “Miracle on the Hudson” with passengers trying to take their bags with them as they evacuated the plane.
Some people need a punch in the face
Charlotte is one of the worst, if not THE WORST, airport in the world. Avoid it at all costs.
“any landing you can walk away from is a good one!”
When the jet bridge then collapses as you are walking away, you know it’s time to just go home and call it a day. (This actually happened at a different airport).
Looking forward to MenTour Pilot’s play by play on this one. He does an incredible job breaking down air disasters to explain exactly what happened and why.
The way the story is written, it sounds like a burning plane taxied back to the terminal.
I’m sure they put the fire out first, but still….
Flew out of there at least once & was not recalling anything bad about it except for almost missing the call to board, but that was our own fault. What is the problem with Charlotte?
In those days only businessmen and rich families could fly. I did a lot of business flying in the 70s and it was nice.
Today all the deregulation cost cutting has made tickets so cheap everybody can fly.
Take your pick: cheap tix or high regulation, empty planes, few flights, sky-high prices, but nice meals.
Years ago I read “Take Offs are Optional. Landing are Not!” Very interesting read. Passengers should be thrilled they weren’t further into the climb out. We were on a flight approaching DFW and lost 21 ft of the outboard starboard flap. That was interesting.
https://apnews.com/article/a0013abb6ca5e3cd7232ef6f5014f967
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