Moments of concern were experienced this Tuesday at the Miami International Airport, in the United States, when a plane caught fire after landing, after the collapse of its landing gear. The episode left three woundedalthough none seriously, according to official sources.
The plane, a Red Air McDonell Douglas MD-82, with 126 people on board, came from Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. According to local media, the fire started after a crash landing and affected not only the aircraft but also a communications tower and a small building on the runway.
According to airport spokesman Gregory Chin, the plane “scratched” the southern runway closest to Perimeter Road, the closest to Highway 836 (Dolphins Expressway).
Several firefighters responded to the scene of the incident and extinguished the fire. “Firefighters have controlled the fire and are mitigating the fuel spill (…) A total of 3 people have been transported to hospitals in the local area,” the body said on its social networks. Other passengers were taken to the terminal in buses for their protection.
Local television news footage showed the aircraft coming to a stop on a patch of grass off the runway and fire-fighting chemicals being spilled on the plane and the area around it. At the scene there were at least three fire vehicles doomed to such work.
Meanwhile, images of passengers walking away from the plane circulated on social networks, some carrying their children, others running with their hand luggage and several more recording videos with cell phones.
“The wing was on fire”
“When our fire crews arrived they saw that the wing of the plane was on fire and they quickly tried to put out the fire using specialized foam trucks,” described Erika Benítez, spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue Department.
The airport experienced some delays Tuesday afternoon, terminal officials reported on Twitter, adding that passengers were instructed to contact their respective airlines for details.
The US National Transportation Safety Board published that a team of experts would arrive at the airport on Wednesday to investigate the incident.
With information from Télam, AP and EFE.
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