A British Airways jet caught fire on the tarmac at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, forcing the pilot to abort take-off and effect an emergency evacuation.
All passengers and crew made it off the Flight 2276 safely but several people were treated for minor injuries due to cuts and bruises sustained when exiting via the inflatable evacuation chutes.
The twin-engine Boeing 777, bound for London Gatwick, was seen on the tarmac engulfed in flames and emitting black plumes of smoke.
The fire came from the plane’s left engine on takeoff, according to a preliminary assessment by the Federal Aviation Administration.
FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said there were 159 passengers and 13 crew members onboard at the time.
One passenger, Jacob Steinberg a journalist with UK newspaper The Guardian, described the incident on Twitter.
"Could smell and see smoke but was on other side of plane. One person said fire melted a couple of windows," Steinberg tweeted.
"They opened the back door and a slide went down and smoke started coming in plane, followed by mad dash to front. A lot of panic."
The pilot later told relieved passengers the fire was caused by a ‘catastrophic failure of the engine.’
