On Saturday, a major accident was averted at Denver Airport when a Boeing 737 Max 8 of American Airlines caught fire in the landing gear of Urdan, causing the aircraft to cancel the takeoff. Following this incident, an emergency withdrawal operations were carried out to take out 173 passengers aboard the aircraft immediately. Officials said that during this time a person suffered minor injuries.
A video of the incident is becoming increasingly viral on social media, in which the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft standing at Denver Airport is seen surrounded by smoke and passengers are getting down from the emergency slide in panic. The airline later clarified that the aircraft had a maintenance problem in the tire, due to which the incident occurred.
🚨#BREAKING: Watch as People evacuate from a American Airlines jet after a left main wheels caught fire
Watch as passengers and crew evacuate American Airlines Flight 3023, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, at Denver International Airport. The Miami-bound jet was forced… pic.twitter.com/RmUrXYj5Jp
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) July 26, 2025
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About the event
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), local time at around 2:45 pm, the aircraft reported a possible malfunction in the landing gear while flying from Denver Airport. With immediate effect, the passengers were safely evacuated on the runway and the buses were transported to the terminal. The FAA has announced that they will conduct a thorough investigation into the fire incident.
Denver Airport said in its statement that the incident took place on the runway, after which the first response team of the airport and Denver Fire Department were immediately informed. He confirmed that five people were investigated on the spot but there was no need to take them to the hospital, while a person was referred to the hospital after examining at the gate. The Denver Fire Department announced the extinguishing of the fire at around 5:10 pm.
American Airlines issued a statement saying that the incident occurred due to ‘maintenance related problems in a tire of landing gear’. He also said that ‘all the passengers and crews got off the aircraft safely, and the aircraft has been dropped from service for inspection by our maintenance team.’
Questions raised on a passenger
After this incident, a video of a passenger fired from the plane has surfaced, in which he is seen giving priority to his belongings instead of his child, which is being criticized on social media. The video shows that the passenger is slipping down from the emergency slide, holding the baby in one hand holding the neck and carrying stuff in the other hand. It seems that after getting out of the slide, he could not balance and fell on his child.
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past events
This is the second incident of an aircraft fire in Denver in the last five months. Earlier, in March too, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft of American Airlines caught fire at the airport. In that incident too, all 172 passengers and six members of the crew were taken out safely.