Washington: A passenger jet with 126 people on board burst into flames when its landing gear collapsed after touchdown at Miami International Airport Tuesday evening. Three people suffered minor injuries.
?#BREAKING: Aircraft catches fire as its landing gear collapsed
Multiple Emergency crews are currently at the scene as Red Air aircraft catches fire as its landing gear collapsed after landing at Miami International Airport All passengers been evacuated pic.twitter.com/3D8Ioak9kn
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) June 21, 2022
The accident, involving a McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft operating as Red Air Flight 203 from the Dominican Republic, occurred around 6 p.m. local time, the Federal Aviation Administration said in an emailed statement. The fire has since been extinguished, and three people were transported to area hospitals for treatment, according to a tweet from the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department.
#MDFR is on scene of an aircraft fire at @iflyMIA. Fire crews have placed the fire under control and are mitigating fuel spillage. All souls on board have been assessed for injuries. A total of 3 patients have been transported to local area hospitals. pic.twitter.com/hMP68ncJ4s
— Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (@MiamiDadeFire) June 21, 2022
Photos and video on social media showed flames and black smoke rising from the jet as it skidded to a halt. The US National Transportation Safety Board said in a tweet that it was sending a team of investigators to the scene following a “gear collapse and runway excursion.”
Red Air, based in the Dominican Republic, only started flying last year. The carrier has four MD-80 family jets — including the one that crashed — and employs more than 50 people, according to its website.
The plane involved in the accident was almost 32 years old, according to Planespotters.net. It spent up until 2015 flying for American Airlines Group Inc., Planespotters data show. – Bloomberg
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