Investigation after jet catches fire at Florida airport
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of a fire which engulfed a Dynamic Airways jet on the runway at Fort Lauderdale.
The Boeing 767 jet, bound for Venezuela, was reportedly leaking fuel on the runway before igniting, prompting a full-scale evacuation.
Emergency teams took 21 people to Broward Health Medical Center although no injuries were considered life threatening.
Air traffic control was alerted by another plane which reported seeing fuel leaking from the left engine, a Federal Aviation Administration statement said.
"An aircraft taxiing behind the Boeing 767 reported that fuel was leaking from the aircraft before the fire started. Passengers evacuated via slides onto the taxiway," the FAA said.
"We averted disaster today," said Broward County Aviation Department spokesman Greg Meyer.
The incident and resulting clean-up operation closed down the airport for several hours, causing 42 flight cancellations and delaying dozens more.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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