A Delta Air Lines passenger captured the moment an engine seemingly caught on fire just as their airplane started to accelerate along the runway for takeoff on Tuesday. The pilots immediately aborted takeoff as fire engines rushed to escort the aircraft back to the gate.
The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon as Delta Air flight DL447 from Santa Ana to Atlanta started to move along the runway for takeoff. One of the passengers on the 25-year-old Boeing 757 aircraft was filming outside the window when flames and smoke started blowing out of the right-hand engine.
The sight of flames quickly subsided, but cellphone video shows thick black smoke billowing from underneath the engine in the moments after the incident. Thankfully, the aircraft was able to return to the gate and passengers deplaned via the jetbridge into the terminal.
Local news station KTLA reported that the pilots activated an extinguishing system inside the engine to put out the fire while airport fire engines rushed to the side of the airplane.
After assessing the scene, the aircraft was brought back to the airport terminal under the watchful eye of the Orange County Fire Authority which escorted the airplane.
Delta Air Lines confirmed that 172 passengers and crew were onboard the aircraft. There were no reported injuries.
A spokesperson for the Atlanta-based airline blamed an “engine maintenance issue” for the incident.
In a statement, the airline said: “Delta flight 447, set to operate service from John Wayne Airport (SNA) to Atlanta returned to the gate prior to takeoff following an apparent engine maintenance issue.”
“The aircraft was met by local maintenance personnel for further evaluation. We apologize to our customers for this inconvenience and are working to get them to their final destinations as quickly as possible.”
