Passengers evacuate on slides after Delta plane engine catches fire in Orlando – National
A Delta Air Lines airplane caught fire on Monday before take off at a central Florida airport, forcing passengers to evacuate due to an engine fire, according to airport officials.
There were no reports of any injuries during the fire on the plane at Orlando International Airport, Delta said in a statement.
The engine fire broke out on Delta Air Lines Flight 1213 while the plane was pushing back from the gate for departure around 11:15 a.m. before heading from Orlando to Atlanta on Monday morning.
Passengers were evacuated from the aircraft using slides and the airport’s rescue and firefighting team responded to the fire after flames in the tailpipe of one of the aircraft’s engines were visible.
“Delta flight crews followed procedures to evacuate the passenger cabin when flames in the tailpipe of one of the aircraft’s two engines were observed,” Delta said in a statement.
Delta said that the Airbus A330 aircraft had 282 customers, 10 flight attendants and two pilots.
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The cause of the fire is not immediately clear but Delta said that maintenance teams will examine the aircraft in an effort to determine what started the fire.
The passengers returned to the terminal building and Delta said it will bring in an additional aircraft to help the flight resume.
“We appreciate our customers’ cooperation and apologize for the experience,” Delta said in a statement to CBS.
“Nothing is more important than safety and Delta teams will work to get our customers to their final destinations as soon as possible.”
Videos from passengers abroad the flight showed the plane wing on fire while others at the airport shared photos of the passengers disembarking from the slide.
The engine fire marks the latest scare involving a Delta plane this year. In February, a Delta Air Lines flight crash landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport, causing the aircraft to flip upside-down on its roof and catch on fire.
All 76 passengers and four crew members survived after Delta’s Endeavor Flight 4819 arriving from Minneapolis skidded on the tarmac and burst into flames. There were no fatalities, but 21 people, including a child, were taken to hospital from the crash. Twenty-two of the 76 passengers were Canadian; the rest were multinational.
Video posted online showed passengers self-evacuating from the plane, walking onto a snowy tarmac.
Delta has offered US$30,000 in compensation to each of the passengers on the plane. If all passengers accept the offer, the airline will pay out approximately $2.3 million.
The airline stated that the payment comes with “no strings attached and does not affect rights.”
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— With files from Global News’ Gabby Rodrigues and The Associated Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
