Passengers on Delta Air Lines flight 1437 had to evacuate the aircraft using emergency slides after a tire blew up during a landing in Atlanta.
The Boeing 757 left Richmond, Virginia carrying 190 passengers at 3:56 p.m. local time and was heading to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).
However, its left main gear tire overheated, caught on fire, and then popped, forcing passengers to evacuate the aircraft upon landing at around 6:00 p.m. local time.
Airport officials reported that Atlanta Fire and Airport emergency crews responded to the incident.
“The Delta team was extremely organized and professional with no panic.” a witness told local news outlet 11Alive. “There are probably 100 ground safety personnel here and 20 vehicles, so the response was amazing.”
Video footage from the scene shows the crew spraying water onto the plane.
Passengers were able to self-evacuate from the plane and were then moved to the terminal via bus. Currently, at least one person is reported to be injured, but their condition is unknown.
“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,” Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines said in a statement. “We apologize to each for this experience – nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and crew.”
Delta is currently focused on ensuring that all passengers from the flight receive their belongings from the airplane. The airline plans to conduct an internal investigation of the incident.
