Dramatic New Video Shows Passengers Escaping Burning British Airways Plane
The flight was taking off when an engine malfunction sparked the fire.
— -- A dramatic video has emerged showing passengers fleeing a British Airways flight Tuesday after an engine malfunction during takeoff led to a raging fire.
The plane was taking off from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on its way to London when the fire started, authorities said.
The video shows safety slides being inflated and passengers fleeing the burning plane. Seven passengers from BA Flight 2276 received medical treatment for minor injuries, according to a tweet Wednesday from the airport.
“The safety of our customers and crew is always our priority,” British Airways said in a statement.
The audio, which picked up comments from stunned bystanders, includes one person exclaiming, "Oh my God," as the passengers flee across the tarmac from the plane. The video also shows fire engines responding within a matter of minutes, spraying the smoking plane down from multiple directions.
The National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation into the incident. It has found that parts of the device used to keep the engine's compressor blades in position were found across the runway, officials said today.
GE Aviation, which makes the Boeing 777 engine, said it has no plans to examine other engines of the same model, Aviation Media Relations Manager Rick Kennedy told ABC News today.
"It's too early for that," he explained, saying the company is more focused on figuring out what happened to this particular engine.
The Association of Flight Attendants praised the crew’s quick thinking and professionalism in keeping the number of injured low and getting all the passengers off the plane.
“The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) is proud to applaud the life-saving action of the crew on British Airways flight 2276,” the AFA said in a statement Wednesday. “Passengers are crediting flight attendants with saving lives yesterday, and this incident once again reminds regulators and the traveling public of the primary role of Flight Attendants as aviation’s first responders.”
Most of the passengers have arrived in the United Kingdom, and BA is continuing to help those who are flying in the coming days, the airline said in a statement sent to ABC News today.
ABC News' Erin Dooley and Matt Hosford contributed reporting.
