An American Airlines plane caught fire on the runway after making an emergency landing at Denver International on 13 March 2025. All 172 passengers and six crew members were safely evacuated.
Flight 1006, operated aboard a Boeing 737-800, had taken off from Colorado Springs and was on its way to Dallas Fort-Worth when the crew noticed engine vibrations and diverted to make an emergency landing at Denver. It landed at 5:15 pm but as the aircraft taxied to a halt at the stand, the right-hand engine burst into flames, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
American Airlines flight 4012 just caught fire at Denver airport pic.twitter.com/EHIGMAqJjJ
— Stone (@flynnstone) March 14, 2025
The passengers evacuated the aircraft via the left wing and rear exit chute amid thick grey and black smoke. Video footage taken by one passenger shows the moments as passengers left the plane, with voices calling for order and instructing the evacuees to “go go.” All 178 people on board made it out and only 12 were taken to University of Colorado Hospital for minor injuries, airport authorities said, with all released by Friday.
In a statement to ABC News, American Airlines said, “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.”
CFM engine
Meanwhile, the plane, a 13-year-old Boeing with twin engines made by Franco-American aircraft engine manufacturer CFM, suffered damage to its fuselage and wing. The onward Dallas-bound portion of the flight was operated on a different aircraft and left Denver at 2:50 am, FlightAware data shows. American Airlines cancelled Friday’s flights between the two destinations and resumed the schedule on Saturday.
An investigation is underway by the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board. Former National Transportation Safety Board Chairman James Hall said the reported engine vibrations on the American flight were “unusual” but refused to speculate on the cause. Steven Wallace, a former FAA accident investigations director told AP that engine fires are rare, noting, “A pilot going to work for an airline today could likely fly for 30 years and never experience an engine failure.”
But two other engine fires are among a spate of recent aviation accidents that have made some air passengers wary. One was a cargo flight struck by a bird strike that made an emergency landing in New Jersey. The other was aboard a United Airlines Airbus 319 that also possessed CFM engines, one of which caught fire in early February just before take off from Houston. Its 105 passengers and five crew were also forced to deplane on the runway via slides and stairs.
A wobble in air passenger confidence in aviation could be a blow for the US economy, which has seen $5 trillion wiped off its markets in the last three weeks, as it faces the fallout of mass federal layoffs, the introduction of tariffs that are pushing prices up for US consumers, and a Canadian boycott of US destinations.
