According to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the incident occurred on July 26 when the Boeing 737 Max was preparing to leave Denver International Airport, Denver, Colorado (USA) to Miami, Florida when the system crashed, causing a brake failure. The fire rose under the fuselage as the pilot prepared to accelerate takeoff, forcing the crew to cancel the takeoff and order an emergency evacuation.
The airport management agency said that a slightly injured passenger was taken to the hospital, while 5 others received first aid on the spot. All passengers were evacuated safely and the fire was quickly extinguished by firefighters. The aircraft was taken out of service for technical testing and a replacement aircraft was arranged for passengers to continue their journey.
Some passengers shared moments of panic when the fire broke out. "The plane began to shake violently, then there was a loud explosion and smoke began to rise," passenger Shay Armistead told CNN.
Another said she saw "fire coming out from under the fuselage" right before people were instructed to use the escape slide.
The video recorded by passengers and posted on social network X shows the scene of passengers sliding down from the escape route in the middle of the smoke coming out of the fuselage.
The incident delayed more than 240 flights at Denver airport, according to data from flight tracking sites. The FAA said it is launching an investigation to determine the exact cause.
This is the latest incident involving the Boeing 737 Max - a plane that was suspended globally after a series of serious accidents in the past.
In January 2024, a Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 encountered a serious problem when the plane had a mid-range gate, forcing the FAA to temporarily suspend operations, limit production and tighten technical inspection of the aircraft.
Denver International Airport has also seen recent safety incidents. In March, another American Airlines plane suffered an engine failure as it was preparing to take off. In April, a United Airlines flight also caught fire after colliding with an animal on the runway.
The FAA is still investigating and has not announced when the crashed plane will be put back into operation. Boeing and American Airlines have not yet made an official comment on the incident.
