The British Airways jetliner that caught fire on the Las Vegas
airport's tarmac had suppression equipment, but it just didn't work to suppress
the flames, a source close to the investigation said Wednesday.
Twenty-seven
people associated with British Airways Flight 2276 were treated at the Nevada
city's Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, spokeswoman Sylvia Song said. All
had been released by Wednesday afternoon.
Most of the
injuries came as passengers slid down the four inflatable chutes while
evacuating the Boeing 777, Clark County Fire Department Deputy Chief Jon
Klassen said.
The incident
happened shortly after 4 p.m. (7 p.m. ET) Tuesday, when the aircraft's left
engine caught fire at McCarran International Airport, according to the Federal
Aviation Administration.
Exactly why that
happened was one of authorities' looming questions.
Another was why
the fire continued until firefighters -- who witnesses said arrived within
minutes of the fire and smoke erupting -- doused it.
The British Airways
jet's fire indication light did come on at some point, the source close to the
investigation said. And the plane did have fire suppression equipment that was
deployed, but it didn't extinguish the fire.
Investigators are
looking into a few possibilities such as whether or not the fire suppression
equipment worked properly or whether a fuel line ruptured, causing the fire to
spread.
A thud, then an evacuation order
Jay Jennings was one of the 159
passengers, along with 13 crew members, on the London-bound jet when he heard a
big thud as the flight was about to takeoff. He lifted his window shade and
"just saw flames on the engine," he said.
For a few
frenetic minutes, frightening plumes of black smoke engulfed the London-bound
jet.
The plane stopped and sat for what felt like a minute, Jennings
added. Then the captain came on the intercom and told the passengers there was
an emergency and they needed to evacuate.
When one of the
emergency doors opened, smoke poured in. "Not safe, not safe,"
someone said, Jennings recalled.
Paul Berberian, who had just landed on a flight from Denver,
said that he didn't know anyone was on the plane until "the slides popped
up."
"Five
seconds later people were just flying down ... and running away," said
Berberian, who estimated firetrucks were on the scene within two minutes.
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