MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) – An American Airlines flight bound for South Florida was evacuated at San Francisco International Airport after a fire broke out as the plane was taxiing to the gate.
American Airlines Flight 2045 was scheduled to leave SFO at 12:17 p.m. PST on Friday and land at Miami International Airport at 8:58 p.m. EST.
But the Airbus A321 never got off the ground, because passengers reported smoke in the cabin prior to takeoff.
American Airlines officials later confirmed the smoke was reported from a laptop that ignited inside a passenger’s bag.
The San Francisco Fire Department responded, and passengers were transported to the terminal.
Some passengers deplaned through an emergency slide, while others deplaned via the jet bridge, officials said.
One passenger shared video of other passengers after they deplaned. The passenger describing the commotion as a light stampede, as people screamed “fire” in the back of the cabin.
Three people suffered minor injuries during the evacuation. One of them was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Officials are investigating the cause of the fire, but it may have been due to a lithium battery.
Firefighters at the scene put what looked like a laptop into a tub of water, which fire officials say is the correct way to extinguish a lithium-ion battery fire.
A picture taken by a delayed passenger shows firefighters working underneath the plane.
Friday evening, a spokesperson for American Airlines issued a statement that reads:
During boarding of American Airlines flight 2045 with service from San Francisco (SFO) to Miami (MIA) smoke was reported from inside a customer’s bag. The bag was quickly removed by our crew members and all customers exited the aircraft. We thank our crew members for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.
American Airlines
The flight is now scheduled to take off from SFO at 11:15 p.m. PST and is scheduled to arrive at MIA at 8:04 a.m. EST on Saturday.
The Federal Aviation Administration said there have been 30 lithium-ion battery fires on aircraft this year to date. Five of them involved laptops.
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