Hero British Airways pilot saves 157 passengers after bringing flaming 90mph Gatwick-bound jet to halt in just NINE seconds at Vegas airport allowing them to make miraculous escape with just two injuries
- British Airways flight bound for London was on tarmac at McCarran Airport
- Was taxiing towards the runway when it suddenly burst into flames
- Passengers escaped down evacuation slides and ran from the aircraft
- 14 people were taken to local hospitals to be treated for minor injuries
- Someone on board said the plane filled with smoke, causing panic
- Passengers started running towards the door in a bid to get out
- The Boeing 777, which was built in 1998, has a good safety record
PUBLISHED: 00:53, 9 September 2015 | UPDATED: 11:40, 9 September 2015
A hero British Airways pilot averted disaster by bringing a 350-tonne plane accelerating down the runway at 90mph to a standstill in just nine seconds - saving the lives of everyone on board.
The pilot was readying the plane for take off when it burst into flames at a Las Vegas airport on Tuesday evening.
It had been bound for London Gatwick, and was travelling at 90 miles per hour when the left engine caught fire after a catastrophic failure.
Passengers described a loud bang, and the increasing heat from the fire near the windows.
But in a mayday call to the control tower, the pilot remained calm and collected, asking for 'fire services' and then informing them 'we are evacuating'.
The passengers and crew exited the plane, which was still in the middle of the runway,
Fourteen people were then taken to hospital for treatment - many suffering from suspected smoke inhalation while others were hurt when they evacuated. They have all since been released.
Mayday! Mayday!: BA pilots dramatic call as plane catches fire
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The British Airways flight bound for London Gatwick was loaded with passengers on the tarmac at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas when it burst into flames - just before it was supposed to take off
Terrified travelers on other flights captured the plumes of smoke billowing from the Boeing 777. Emergency services rushed to the aircraft from all sides of the airport - the 9th busiest in the United States
The plane was travelling at 90mph when the engine exploded - but the pilot stopped it within nine seconds
Passengers were left stranded on the tarmac after they fled the plane. Some managed to grab their luggage before they were evacuated
Dramatic moment passengers escape from flaming BA plane
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Writing in the Guardian after escaping the plane, passenger Jacob Steinberg revealed there was applause when the pilot emerged. Without him, the football and tennis writer suggested, it wasn't worth thinking about what would have happened next.
'He said he had been flying for years and had never seen anything like that,' Steinberg wrote.
'He was speaking to a few passengers later and all the colour had drained from his face.
'There were not enough words in the world for us to express our gratitude.'
Writing on Twitter earlier, he had revealed: 'Was asleep as the plane took off. Came to a crashing halt. Smell of smoke. Initially told to stay seated, then shout of evacuate.
‘Could smell and see smoke but was on other side of plane. One person said fire melted a couple of windows.
'They opened the back door and slide went down and smoke started coming in plane, followed by mad dash to front. A lot of panic.'
Dominic Worthington, a British passenger travelling business class, described a ‘slight jolt, then a bang’ before the plane came to a stop.
He told CBSN: ‘We had a matter of seconds before it could have escalated into something very serious.’ He was also full of praise for the pilot, who appears to have been more concerned for his passengers’ safety rather than his own.
‘He [the pilot] was glad him and his crew were able to get everybody off with a few bumps a bruises, which I think is absolutely outstanding and they deserve full credit.’
Passengers flee burning plane as black smoke fills the air
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Stills from a video show the evacuation slides deployed at each end of the plane as the smoke rises. Passengers said there was a panicked rush for the exits when the fire started
This picture led people to question where people's priorities were as they left the burning plane
Alex Crimmens, who was sitting by the wing, told The Mirror how he feared for his life after hearing a 'massive bang' as they accelerated down the runway. 'Then you could begin to see the flames coming through - you could feel the heat so I moved further into the middle of the plane,' he told the paper.
Mr Crimmens, from Newcastle, was one of the 157 and 13 crew members on board at the time.
Many passengers have said how it was a fear the plane, which was full of fuel, would explode which terrified them the most.
'People just ran to get clear of the plane,' passenger Claire Corrigan told ITV News. 'I think it was a fear because the plane was a full fuel load, that it could explode.' According to preliminary information, the plane experienced a left engine fire on takeoff, said Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration's Pacific Division.
One runway was shut but flights continued to depart on remaining runways as paramedics treated those caught up in the fire.
It took just two minutes for the fire service the reach the burning plane.
Kent Winter, who was on a Delta flight from LAX, told the Daily Mail Online his flight was forced to pull up just before it landed.
He said nobody on-board his flight was informed of what was going on the pilot said on the intercom: 'It looks like someone blew a tire on the runway'.
One side of the plane was damaged in the fire. The evacuation slides are still deployed as firefighters investigate the area in the aftermath of the blaze
Firefighters stand by the plane to assess the damage the fire caused. A preliminary investigation suggested the left engine suffered a 'catastrophic' failure
BOEING 777: THE SECOND SAFEST AEROPLANE IN THE WORLD
The Boeing 777 which caught fire on the runway in Las Vegas today is the second safest aeroplane in the world, according to official statistics.
According to FearofFlying.com, it has one accident per 18million hours of flying time. But only one of those has been fatal in its 19-year history, leading to the loss of three lives out of the 307 aboard the Asiana Airlines jet.
On that occasion, the plane landed short of the runway in San Francisco.
However, the Boeing 777 was also the plane used by Malaysian Airways, which had one of its planes shot down over the Ukraine, while another disappeared.
Airlines like the plane because it is capable of flying extremely long distances thanks to two giant engines.
Each engine is so massive that a row of at least five coach seats could fit inside it. By having just two engines, the plane burns through less fuel than four-engine jets, like the Boeing 747, which it has essentially replaced.
Malaysia Airlines did have an incident in August 2005 with a 777 flying from Perth, Australia, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's largest city.
While flying 38,000 feet (11,580 meters) above the Indian Ocean, the plane's software incorrectly measured speed and acceleration, causing the plane to suddenly shoot up 3,000 feet (915 meters).
The pilot disengaged the autopilot and descended and landed safely back in Perth. A software update was quickly made on planes around the world
But pictures of 'dozens' of people walking along the runway with their carry-on bags has angered some on social media.
Terrified travelers on other flights captured the plumes of smoke coming from the Boeing 777 as those on board were forced to jump down inflatable slides and run away from the blaze.
Safety expert Thomas Pitts tweeted: 'Woke up to the news of the engine fire on that BA flight in Vegas. But yet again people are taking their bags whilst evacuating! Idiots!'.
@mytripreport wrote: 'Clearly people weren't paying attention to the safety video on the BA 777 - as from the video I've seen, people have their bags with them!
@Ragin_Spice wrote: 'I see passengers jumped down the slides of that BA plane with wheel bags and massive rucksacks. Leave everything and GET OUT.
Another said: 'Those with luggage would take a punch square in the face. Apparently people slowing the evac to grab bags'.
But passenger Steinberg said people should not be too hard on those who grabbed bags.
He said: 'Don't criticise passengers for taking their bags! People go into panic mode in that situation.'
He was more critical of the lack of information after the passengers were taken to a nearby hotel by bus.
Steinberg revealed they were currently talking to passengers about putting them on other direct flights to London.
Firetrucks rush in to put out fire on British Airways plane
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Firefighters stand atop a ladder next to the doors of the plane after the fire had been put out. The Boeing 777 has one of the best safety records of any commercial airline in the world
Another plane takes off the in the background as the charred fuselage of the British Airways aircract sits on the tarmac at McCarran Airport. Three runways were shut after the incident
The crew's swift reaction has been praised by experts as well, with Julian Bray saying it was 'textbook' - despite the evacuation being slightly slowed by smoke pouring in through the door.
'You can see just how quickly they manage to get the chutes open,' he told MailOnline.
'Everybody seemed to get out very quickly.'
Mr Bray said there were a number of possibilities for what had caused the engine to catch fire - including a blockage, or even a bird strike.
But even if it had failed after they had left the ground, he was confident the pilot would have got everybody to safety.
'It can still fly with only one engine,' he said. 'It would have gone around, landed and everybody would have got off.'
Meanwhile, Richard Aboulafia, an aviation expert at Teal Group, said he did not believe Tuesday's fire was linked to any flaws with the Boeing 777.
'The 777 remains one of the safest forms of transport ever invented,' he said.
'While we don't know about this incident, there have been no significant 777 crashes or fires that resulted from flaws with the aircraft.'
Casinos along the Las Vegas Strip can be seen behind the aircraft that suffered a massive engine failure
The Mandalay Bay hotel and the pyramid of the Luxor are seen on the horizon at one end of the strip
A passenger on another flight preparing to take off captures the smoke billowing from the plane
A spokesman for British Airways told the Daily Mail Online they were 'continuing to care' for the customers who had been on board, and were organising other flights.
'The safety of our customers and crew is always our priority and we are looking after those who were on board the BA2276 from Las Vegas to London Gatwick following an incident on Tuesday September 8, 2015,' they said in an earlier statement.
'The aircraft, a 777-200 experienced a technical issue as it was preparing for take-off from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.
'Our crew evacuated the aircraft safely and the fire was quickly extinguished by the emergency services at the airport.
'157 customers were on board the flight, along with three pilots and 10 cabin crew. A small number of customers and our crew were taken to hospital.
'All customers have been provided with hotel accommodation, and our colleagues are helping them with anything further they require.'
The later statement added: 'The National Transportation Safety Board in the US is conducting an investigation into the incident and we will give them our fullest support.'
A spokesman from Boeing said they were looking into the incident.
The long-range jumbo jet has helped connect cities at the far ends of the globe, with flights as long as 16 hours.
High-rise hotels stand in the background as investigators look over the burned-out plane on the runway
The Stratosphere Casino and Tower stands in front of the mountains surrounding Sin City
The fuselage of the British Airways flight is blackened by the fire on the tarmac at McCarren Airport
The British Airways plane sits on a runway surrounded by emergency vehicles after the blaze
The long-range jumbo jet has helped connect cities at the far ends of the globe, with flights as long as 16 hours. It is one of the jets most commonly used by British Airways for long-haul flights
The plane was quickly evacuated. Fourteen people were taken to a local hospital to be treated - mostly for injuries sustained while evacuating the plane
Fire fighters rushed to the scene after the passengers were evacuated to put out the fire
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3227162/British-Airways-plane-bursts-flames-Las-Vegas-McCarran-Airport-off.html#ixzz3lEotkxmK
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