Passengers forced to escape onto wings as plane bursts into flames in terrifying scenes

In terrifying scenes you might have seen in films or even in your nightmares, passengers were forced to escape onto the wings of a plane yesterday (13 March).

After a diversion, the plane landed at Denver Airport, Colorado, and burst into flames while taxiing on the tarmac.

The American Airlines flight had taken off from the nearby Colorado Springs and was supposed to be flying over to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Texas.

However, it was diverted to Denver at about 5.15pm local time after the crew reported vibrations coming from the engine. The plane, with 172 passengers and six crew members on board, then caught fire after landing.

The airline said everyone made it off the Boeing 737-800 aircraft safely, although it was later confirmed by the airport that 12 people were taken to hospital for minor injuries.

According to air traffic control audio from LiveATC.net, the pilot notified air traffic controllers in Denver shortly before landing that the flight was experiencing engine issues.

However, they said it was not an emergency.

The controller asked: “American 10,006, uh, 1006 just to verify not an emergency still, correct?”

And the pilot responded: “Nah, we just have a high engine vibration so we are cruising slower than normal.”

American Airlines flight 4012 just caught fire at Denver airport pic.twitter.com/EHIGMAqJjJ

— Stone (@flynnstone) March 14, 2025

However, things seemed to escalate quickly as several minutes later, after landing, someone on the radio yelled: “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! … engine fire!”

Footage taken by witness shows passengers evacuating the jet via the wing, as they stood huddled in a row as some held on to bags while flames burned near the bottom of the plane.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said those on board used inflatable slides to safely reach the ground at the airport. The agency added that it would investigate the scary-looking incident.

A spokesperson for Denver International Airport said the fire had been put out and flight operations had continued as normal.

One witness from inside the terminal told Metro they had briefly stopped by the windows ‘and saw a flash of sudden fire, followed by a ton of smoke’.

“The fire was very brief and looked like it was extinguished pretty quickly by ground crews,” they added.

“The smoke continued for a while and that’s when we saw people starting to exit from the rear slides.”

Clips on social media show passengers walking on the edge of the wing while ground crew rush towards them with ladders.

LADbible has contacted American Airlines for comment.