One person was taken to a hospital Saturday afternoon after an equipment problem on an American Airlines flight at Denver International Airport forced passengers and crew to evacuate onto the runway.
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American Airlines flight 3023 was departing for Miami International Airport when there was a “maintenance issue” with an airplane tire about 2:45 p.m., according to airline and federal officials.
One person was taken to a hospital with a minor injury, airline officials said. Five others were evaluated on scene but were not taken to the hospital, according to DIA.
The issue initially was reported as a problem with a landing gear, but American Airlines officials later said it involved one of the plane’s tires and happened before takeoff. The aircraft was taken out of service for inspection.
The flight was carrying 173 passengers and six crew members, and passengers will take another flight to Miami later today.
Federal Aviation Administration officials identified the aircraft as a Boeing 737 MAX 8 and said the agency will investigate the incident.
A photo from a passenger published by 9News showed smoke coming from below the airplane and that evacuation slides had been deployed.
Hundreds of flights were delayed Saturday afternoon after the runway response, with 435 flight delays and 14 cancellations as of 5 p.m., according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.
This is the second time this year problems with American Airlines flights in Colorado have made headlines. In March, a Boeing 737-800 that took off from Colorado Springs had to make an emergency landing at DIA after one of the engines caught fire.
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