PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – On Oct. 28, 2016, American Airlines flight 383 experienced a right engine failure and subsequent fire during takeoff at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
The flight was headed to Miami International Airport. The flight crew aborted the takeoff and stopped the airplane on the runway so that an emergency evacuation could take place.
Of the 161 passengers and nine crew members, only one passenger received serious injuries during the evacuation.
The National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday released interviews with the flight crew, pilots and passengers describing a very chaotic evacuation.
Some passengers were critical of how the air staff handled the evacuation, and some of the flight staff shared that view.
One of those passenger told investigators the only instruction they got after the fire was to stay in their seats, the NTSB report said.
A flight attendant said passengers ran to the front of the plane started yelling "fire," the report said, and another said passengers were screaming and climbing over seats.
Multiple flight attendants said they were waiting for engines to shut down before they evacuated the plane, but because of the thick smoke, they decided to order the evacuation before the captain.
Transcripts show the captain did call for an evacuation two minutes after a bang was heard.