Southwest flight grounded after wing catches fire before takeoff - TomoNews
- 6 years ago
DETROIT — A Southwest Airlines flight from Detroit to St. Louis was grounded after a passenger happened to notice the wing was on fire right before takeoff.
David Fiedor was in the back of the plane on Flight 1863 last Thursday when his spider-sense started tingling.
"I heard a muffled thud, similar to when the landing gear is engaging. I didn't think much of it until I looked out the window and saw the wing had flames coming out from the bottom. The flames were coming out intermittently" Fiedor told MLive.
The plane was carrying about 80 people Fiedor guessed, but he had the back mostly to himself.
Apparently no one else noticed the fire, so he got up from his seat and calmly alerted a flight attendant.
After first the flight attendant told Fiedor to sit down, but then she came back and saw the flames for herself.
She alerted the pilots, and they turned the plane back. Passengers either booked another flight or were given a refund.
David Fiedor was in the back of the plane on Flight 1863 last Thursday when his spider-sense started tingling.
"I heard a muffled thud, similar to when the landing gear is engaging. I didn't think much of it until I looked out the window and saw the wing had flames coming out from the bottom. The flames were coming out intermittently" Fiedor told MLive.
The plane was carrying about 80 people Fiedor guessed, but he had the back mostly to himself.
Apparently no one else noticed the fire, so he got up from his seat and calmly alerted a flight attendant.
After first the flight attendant told Fiedor to sit down, but then she came back and saw the flames for herself.
She alerted the pilots, and they turned the plane back. Passengers either booked another flight or were given a refund.