Plane In Florida Catches Fire Minutes Before Takeoff

Just a few minutes before it was in the air, a passenger plane with more than 100 people on board caught fire on the runway at Florida's Fort Lauderdale Airport. The plane, a Boeing 767, was bound for Caracas, Venezuela. Dynamic International Airways Flight 405 was scheduled to take off at 12:30 p.m. ET, but as it prepared to depart, the crew in another plane reported seeing "a lot of fuel" leaking from an engine. The plane was beginning to return to the gate when air-traffic control recorded someone yelling out, “Engine’s on fire! Engine’s on fire!” Photos and videos from passengers show enormous clouds of black smoke billowing from the plane.

Passengers and crew were evacuated from the plane by slide, and firefighters were able to extinguish the fire quickly. Reports on injuries range from seven to 20 people, though thankfully, there seem to be no deaths or life-threatening injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board has already said it is sending a team to investigate the fire. The airport was closed immediately after the fire to allow emergency officials to respond, but has since reopened.