From the X Page Serious incident on Denver’s runway: American Airlines Flight AA3023 evacuated after wheel fire
A rare incident occurred yesterday afternoon (Saturday) at Denver International Airport (DEN) when American Airlines Flight AA3023, en route from Denver to Miami, was immediately evacuated from the runway after one of the plane's wheels caught fire.
The event unfolded as the Boeing 737 MAX 8 was preparing for takeoff. According to official reports by Denver Airport and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), heavy smoke and flames were detected in one of the landing gear wheels, leading to an aborted takeoff and immediate evacuation of the plane.
The airport’s emergency teams and local firefighting forces arrived at the scene within seconds. All 179 people on board, including 173 passengers and 6 crew members, were evacuated via emergency slides within minutes. Authorities reported that five passengers were treated on-site for minor injuries, and one individual was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The fire was extinguished by 5:10 PM local time, and the plane was towed to a maintenance area for inspection. The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an official investigation to determine the cause of the incident, which might have been due to a technical failure in the braking system or overheating.
It should be noted that there was another unusual aviation event reported earlier on Friday, July 25, at 11:00 AM (local time), involving Southwest Airlines Flight 1496. According to the FAA's official statement, the aircraft received an alert from its automatic system regarding the presence of another aircraft nearby, while flying within the Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center.
Additionally, it is worth mentioning that several serious safety incidents have occurred in the US over the past year, including a fatal collision between an American Eagle passenger plane and a military helicopter near Washington that claimed the lives of about 60 people, a ground collision between two American Airlines planes, and the crash of a helicopter into the Hudson River in New York that killed six people.