NEVADA, Sept 9 – A British Airways jet caught fire on a Las Vegas airport runway Tuesday with sending smoke billowing into the air, after suffering what the pilot described as a “catastrophic failure” of the left engine. There were 159 passengers and 13 crew on board with at least two people were injured
McCarren Airport said the incident involved British Airways flight 2276, which was headed to London’s Gatwick Airport. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says the plane’s left engine caught fire Tuesday afternoon while it was preparing for take off.
In the same time, a plume of black smoke could be seen billowing into the sky but around 50 firefighters quickly doused the aircraft with fire retardant. The airport reported on its official Twitter account that two passengers were taken to a hospital for minor injuries.
The airport said one runway was taken out of service following the fire. Flight operations continue on the airport’s other three runways. Clark County Deputy Fire Chief Jon Klassen says the cause of the fire are still in investigate. He says it didn’t appear to breach the cabin. The Boeing 777-200 was bound for Gatwick Airport near London.
