Fire on plane: Austrians on way to Copa America final in Miami act quickly after flash flame

SAN FRANCISCO – Oliver Jankai — a European who traveled with his family to witness the Copa America final — said he threw a bag that had caught fire on the plane Friday at San Francisco International Airport.

Jankai, who lives in Vienna, Austria, was aboard American Airlines flight 2045 on Gate B17, ready to fly to Miami International Airport when one of his sons feared something was wrong. He could smell something burning.

The Jankai family was in the back of the AA Airbus A321-231 on row 35. Amid the fetid, a flash flame shot up from a bag under their seats. It belonged to a passenger behind them. Despite requests for inaction, his son opened the plane’s door.

“I just opened the door in the back of the plane,” Jankai’s son Jan said.

Jankai, 50, said he threw the bag out of the Airbus A321-231.

“I just shot it out of the plane,” Oliver Jankai said about their response Friday.

Jankai shared his experience after landing safely at MIA on Saturday and picking up his luggage with his family to continue his vacation.

Austrian media identified Jankai as a restauranteur. He said they had already been to two Copa America games in the United States. They looked forward to the Argentina vs. Colombia match Sunday at the Hard Rock Stadium.

Also, Jankai didn’t think of his son or himself as heroes and said, ”I just reacted in a situation ... The only thing that was good was that it didn’t happen in the air.”

According to an air traffic control recording, an American Airlines flight deck employee warned at about 12:15 p.m.: “Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! There is a fire in the back of the aircraft. Send the fire rescue.” An air traffic control employee responded, “They should be there in two minutes.”

Inside the plane, Samyuktha Nair, a passenger, said he too smelled the smoke. The American Airlines crew deployed emergency exit slides.

“There was a total stampede,” Nair said about the evacuation.

Witness videos show the plane’s crew shouting orders at passengers, “Move forward! Do not take your bags!” and “Come this way! Leave everything!” Some passengers used the jet bridge to evacuate the plane.

According to the San Francisco Fire Department, the fire was extinguished before firefighters arrived, three suffered minor injuries, and a lithium-ion battery inside a laptop was to blame. ABC News San Francisco affiliate reported firefighters placed a laptop in water outside of the plane.

The Federal Aviation Administration was investigating the incident. Meanwhile, American Airlines credited their employees with removing the bag.

The airline’s statement: “During boarding of American Airlines flight 2045 with service from San Francisco (SFO) to Miami (MIA), smoke was reported from inside a customer’s bag. The bag was quickly removed by our crew members and all customers exited the aircraft.

“We thank our crew members for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”

Unedited interview at MIA

Witness video shared with The Press Democrat (Warning: Expletives)

Jankai’s son told The Press Democrat he had a ‘feeling’

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