OAN’s Brooke Mallory
1:21 PM – Thursday, August 3, 2023
The tires on a Delta Boeing 757 reportedly caught fire and swiftly erupted into flames during a landing on Wednesday afternoon, forcing 190 passengers to be evacuated onto an Atlanta airport runway, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
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Delta Flight 1437 sustained a rupture in its left main gear tires at 6 p.m. while landing at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, the FAA reported.
A woman on board the plane, who requested not to be identified in the report, told ABC News Atlanta affiliate WSB that while the aircraft was making the difficult landing, one tire suddenly exploded and another one shredded, forcing the plane to slide on the runway.
Frightened passengers were prompted to use the aircraft’s emergency slide to exit.
“The Delta team was extremely organized and professional, with no panic,” said Bruce Campbell, a passenger. “There are probably 100 ground safety personnel here and 20 vehicles, so the response was amazing.”
Delta Air Lines posted a statement regarding the shaky landing.
“We appreciate the efforts of our flight crew and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport first responders to manage through the safe landing of flight 1437 at our hub this afternoon. Initial reports indicate that one of the aircraft’s tires blew upon landing and components of the landing gear were hot. Customers evacuated via emergency slides and are being moved to the terminal via bus. We apologize to each for this experience – nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and crew.”
Delta did receive one report that a person was injured, according to airline officials.
The FAA stated that it will investigate the incident at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
This is a developing story.
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