Plane Catches Fire on Runway During Take-off at Florida Airport (Photos/Video)

Posted by Odinaka on Fri 30th Oct, 2015 - tori.ng

An engine of a passenger jet bound for Caracas, Venezuela, bursted into flames while taxiing for takeoff at a Florida airport, forcing frightened passengers to exit the plane using inflatable emergency slides.

The engine of a Boeing 767 airplane carrying 101 passengers which was bound for Caracas, Venezuela, caught fire as the plane taxied for departure on Thursday at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida.

17 people were taken to Broward Health Medical Center. Among those transported were a child and a trauma patient. Two of the 17 had been treated and discharged as of Thursday.

A Federal Aviation Administration official said the pilot behind the Dynamic International Airways Flight 405, reported fuel was leaking from the aircraft before it caught fire. The fire occurred about 12:30 p.m. on the airport's north runway.

Mike Dupuy, a witness, told CNN; "We were following this plane on the runway, and then all of a sudden, after the screams on the plane, we looked out the window and just saw the smoke. What we saw was just tons of smoke, and we saw people evacuating," he said.

Broward County Sheriff's Office spokesman Mike Jachles said passengers evacuated the jet via emergency slides onto the taxiway as emergency officials responded in two minutes, and the plane was evacuated within six minutes.

The airport was closed as emergency officials responded. It reopened shortly after 3 p.m, but airport spokesman, Greg Meyer told reporters that the airport wouldn't operate at 100% until the north runway could be reopened.

The spokesman said that injuries from the incident ranged from knee, chest and back pain, to complaints of anxiety. "In all, we had approximately two dozen people, 22 to 24 people, that ended up as what we considered patients, or walking wounded," he said.