Passengers were evacuated from an American Airlines plane after it caught fire at Denver International Airport Thursday evening. (Video courtesy of Branden Williams)
An American Airlines plane caught fire after landing at Denver International Airport on Thursday evening, prompting an emergency evacuation.
American Airlines Flight 1006 was en route from Colorado Springs Airport to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport when the crew reported engine vibrations, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The Boeing 737-800 aircraft with the tail number N885NN left the Colorado Springs airport at 4:37 p.m. before being diverted to Denver, according to FlightAware. It landed safely at 5:15 p.m. local time before taxiing to the gate.
While taxiing, an engine caught fire, prompting passengers to evacuate using emergency slides, according to FAA officials. Airport ground crews quickly extinguished the flames, officials said.
As of Thursday night, 12 of the flight’s 172 passengers were transported to area hospitals with “minor injuries”, a DIA spokesperson told the Denver Gazette.
The FAA is investigating the cause of the engine fire and the reported vibrations.
Joshua Sunberg posted on Instagram, saying, “Fire at Denver Airport on American Airlines! Ground crews worked fast and got it out quick. Saw passengers flee through the smoke.”
A separate video on social media showed smoke pouring from the plane and people standing on the airplane’s wing.
“Oh, what happened?” a girl could be heard saying.
“It’s on fire,” an adult male responded.
In the video, people could be seen emerging out of the plane’s door and walking onto the wing. Some of the passengers could be seen carrying bags.
On the ground, some crew members raced to reach the plane’s wing with a ladder.
American Airlines flight 4012 just caught fire at Denver airport pic.twitter.com/EHIGMAqJjJ
— Stone (@flynnstone) March 14, 2025
In a statement, American Airlines said that all 172 passengers and six crew members deplaned safely and were relocated to the terminal.
“We thank our crew members, DEN team, and first responders for their quick and decisive action with the safety of everyone on board and on the ground as the priority,” the airline said.
The country has seen a recent spate of aviation disasters and close calls stoking fears about air travel, though flying remains a very safe mode of transport.
The midair collision that killed 67 near Washington D.C. last month was the worst disaster. But there was also the plane that crashed and flipped over upon landing in Toronto, the fiery plane crash in Philadelphia and a plane crash in Alaska that killed 10, as well as two small planes that collided in Arizona. Those all came before the scary moment in Chicago, when a Southwest Airlines plane had to abort its landing to avoid crashing into another plane crossing the runway. A plane landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport also had to perform a go-around maneuver to avoid getting too close to another aircraft departing from the same runway.
That’s not to mention the time when a Japan Airlines plane clipped a parked Delta plane while it was taxiing at the Seattle airport, or the security concerns that arose after stowaways were found dead inside the wheel wells of two planes and aboard two other flights. In addition, a United Airlines plane caught fire during takeoff at the Houston airport and a passenger opened an emergency exit door on a plane while it was taxiing for takeoff in Boston.
This is a developing story. Denver Gazette news partner 9News and the Associated Press contributed to this article.