A British Airways 777 caught fire at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport this evening. Reports state the fire began in one of the engines but that can not be confirmed at this time. All 159 passengers and 13 crew onboard are reported to have successfully escaped from the aircraft.
The 777 was supposedly headed to London’s Gatwick Airport. One of McCarran’s runways has been shut down while firefighters secure the aircraft. It is unclear if the incident happened during takeoff procedures or while still taxiing.
We will keep you updated as more information becomes available.
Update 5:08pm PST: CNN reports FAA says the aircraft aborted its takeoff due to an engine fire. Note- This could have been an engine fire which was extinguished by onboard fire-bottles, but the takeoff abort could have caused a wider fire, we don’t know the details yet.
Update 5:17pm PST: Tweets of passengers after exiting the aircraft (some with luggage!). BBC reports two minor injuries.
Update 9:34pm PST: BBC reports 13 minor injuries.
Photo via YouTube screen grab.
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