Boeing Jet Catches Fire Before Takeoff, Prompting Airport Closure

Almost 200 travelers were evacuated from a Boeing jet as walls of flames spewed from one of the engines, video shared to X (formerly Twitter) shows.

The incident occurred early on Wednesday morning at Italy’s Brindisi Airport shortly before a Boeing 737 operated by Ryanair was scheduled to take off. Smoke filled the cabin as crews quickly responded and evacuated the jet, but not before one passenger captured footage of the flames licking the plane’s window.

“Flight FR8826 from Brindisi to Turin was delayed this morning after cabin crew observed fumes on the outside of the aircraft,” Ryanair explained in a statement (via Reuters ). “Passengers were disembarked without incident and returned to the terminal by bus.”

Each of the 184 passengers were transported to Turin in a spare Ryanair aircraft.

“The problem, which occurred when the aircraft was already aligned at the head for take-off, required the evacuation of passengers via emergency slides,” the airport said in its own statement. “All operations were carried out with maximum safety for passengers and crew.”

The Brindisi Airport was closed for a short time following the incident, but it reopened in the late morning hours. The airport reported that the closure was “necessary” to ensure the safety of the other passengers.

Just two days ago, the tires of another Ryanair Boeing 737 exploded upon landing at Milan’s Bergamo's Oro al Serio International Airport. There was damage to the runway, but each of the passengers was evacuated without injury.