American Airlines Plane Catches Fire On Charlotte-Douglas Airport Runway

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WSOC) - Passengers on a flight about to take off in North Carolina had a scary view outside their windows as flames shot out from the plane’s wing. “Ladies and gentlemen, please be calm. Obviously, something happened,” someone can be heard saying over the intercom in Frankie Leggington’s video of the incident. Leggington was waiting for her flight, American Airlines flight 2288 to Dallas-Fort Worth, to take off on the runway at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport when she heard that sound. “We were taking off like normal, when the wheels go up, you feel a little bump. Then all of a sudden, you hear an explosion,” Leggington said. Leggington said the scary sound turned into a frightening sight as flames and smoke came out of the wing of the plane. She said that was when everyone aboard the flight began to panic. “Nobody knows what’s happening, so it’s the 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 said she took out her phone to record the view outside of her window seat near one of the emergency exits. “Everyone was trying to panic, but it was like we couldn’t go anywhere,” another passenger, Claire Dundon, said. “That was the biggest scare.” A spokesperson for American Airlines said the plane had experienced a mechanical issue, but it was unclear what caused the fire. Passengers said they had to stay on the plane until first responders put out the flames. The pilot was able to taxi the plane back to the gate using the plane’s power. Source