An American Airlines Airbus A321 passenger aircraft, which was scheduled to depart from Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) in the United States, caught fire while preparing for takeoff.
The incident happened on April 20, 2023, when the 10-year-old American Airlines A321-200 jet, registered N980UY, was operating flight AA2288 connecting Charlotte (CLT) and Dallas (DFW). According to Flightradar24.com data, the plane with 190 passengers and six crew members onboard was supposed to take off from CLT airport at around 7.20 p.m. (UTC) and was expected to touch down three hours after.
However, a few minutes after the jet left the designated gate and was taxiing on a runway for takeoff, its right-side engine malfunctioned. Footage taken by one of the terrified passengers captured the moment they realized the fire was spewing from the wings of the plane.
Firefighting services immediately hastened to the place of the incident to extinguish the fire. Fortunately, no injuries or further incidents have been reported.
It later turned out that flames broke out due to an unspecified mechanical issue.
“The aircraft taxied safely to the gate under its power and was taken out of service for maintenance,” was written in the American Airlines statement. “We never want to disrupt our customer‘s travel plans and apologize for the trouble this may have caused”.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) opened an investigation into the matter.
